EASY ITALIAN:

Silvia Colloca shares authentic pasta recipes from her family

This pumpkin tortelli has been on my family’s Christmas Eve table for as long as I can remember. It’s a beautiful tribute to my paternal nonna, Pina, who was from Emilia-Romagna, the land of ravioli. Pumpkin is at its seasonal best in Italy at Christmas time and pairs so well with a hint of cinnamon and the bittersweet crunch of amaretti crumbs. Of course, you don’t have to wait until the silly season to create this show stopper, especially given that the pumpkin season down under is during May and June! Any special occasion will do. The labour-intensive nature of this dish calls for some extra hands: you could ask your friends and family to create a production line to help fill and shape these delectable nuggets. Pasta party, anyone?

SERVES 4–6

1 quantity Whole-egg Pasta Dough

(see page 144) plain flour and coarse semolina, for dusting FILLING

700g pumpkin (any kind), skin on, deseeded and cut into chunks

80ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra to taste salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper 2 garlic cloves, skin on

2–3 sage leaves, or to taste

125g (¼ cups) dried breadcrumbs

50g (½ cup) freshly grated parmigiano

30g crushed amaretti cookies (see note) SAUCE

120g butter

8–10 sage leaves pinch of salt flakes freshly ground black pepper

1 Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced) and line a baking tray with baking paper. To make the filling, place the pumpkin on the prepared tray, add the olive oil, vinegar, cinnamon and some salt and pepper and toss to coat. Scatter over the garlic and sage leaves and roast for 45–50 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.

2 Discard the sage, remove the pumpkin skin and squeeze the garlic out of its skin. Mash the pumpkin and garlic with a fork until smooth. Add the breadcrumbs, parmigiano and three-quarters of the amaretti, then taste for seasoning and adjust. At this point I add a little more cinnamon, but you may choose not to. Place in the fridge until cool. You can make the filling up to 2 days ahead and keep it in the fridge.

3 Make the pasta dough as instructed. After it has rested it will feel elastic and pliable. Dust your board with flour or semolina, and cut the dough into quarters. Work with one piece at a time and keep the rest wrapped up to prevent it from drying out. Flatten the dough with the palm of your hand, then pass it through the pasta machine’s widest setting three or four times, folding the dough into three each time. Continue passing the dough through the machine (no further folding required), each time through a thinner setting, until you get to the second-last setting or the sheet is roughly 2.5 mm thick.

4 Dust your work surface with semolina. Lay the long sheet of pasta out flat, then evenly dot heaped teaspoons of the filling down one side, leaving about 3cm between each dollop. Brush around the filling with water to moisten, then fold the sheet over and press down to seal. Gently press around each mound to remove any air bubbles (otherwise the tortelli may burst when you cook them). Cut into 4cm squares with a pastry wheel, then place the tortelli on a platter dusted with semolina, trying not to overlap them. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. You can cook the tortelli straight away or freeze them for up to 2 weeks.

5 Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.

6 Meanwhile, to make the sauce, place the butter, sage and salt in a large heavybased frying pan over medium heat and cook until the butter is a pale caramel colour and the sage leaves are crispy.

7 Add the tortelli to the boiling water and cook for 2–3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, lift them from the water and drop them into the brown butter sauce. Sauté for 2–3 minutes or until all the tortelli are nicely coated and slightly caramelised. Season with pepper.

8 Arrange tortelli on a large serving platter and top with the fried sage leaves and remaining crushed amaretti. Serve hot!