Tortelli di Zucca Mantovani — Pumpkin-Filled Pasta with Butter and Sage

Ingredients

• For the filling
• 1 kg Cucurbita maxima or butternut pumpkin, roasted whole or halved at 180 °C until flesh is very dry
• 60 g mostarda di Cremona, fruits only, finely chopped; minimal syrup
• 60 g amaretti di Saronno, dry, crunchy variety; finely crushed
• 80 g Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
• ¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1 pinch fine salt
• For the pasta dough
• 300 g tipo 00 flour
• 3 eggs, at room temperature; 1 egg per 100 g flour
• For the dressing
• 120 g unsalted butter
• 10 fresh sage leaves
• To finish
• 40 g Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated, to serve

Method

1. 1
   Heat the oven to 180 °C. Place the pumpkin cut-side down on a lined tray and roast for 1 to 1½ hours. The flesh is ready when it is completely soft and the cut surface is dry and beginning to colour — no moisture should pool when the flesh is pressed.
2. 2
   Scoop the flesh from the skin and pass it through a mouli or fine sieve into a bowl. Spread the purée on a clean cloth or tray and leave it to dry further if any moisture remains — the purée must hold its shape when mounded on a spoon.
3. 3
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Combine the dry pumpkin purée with the finely chopped mostarda di Cremona fruits, crushed amaretti, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, nutmeg, and salt. Taste the filling: it should be sweet but not dessert-sweet, with the mustard heat of the mostarda arriving as a counterpoint and the Parmigiano and nutmeg holding the sweetness in check. Adjust salt. A cloying or flat filling cannot be corrected at the table.
4. 4
   Work the flour and eggs into a smooth, firm dough. Rest it, wrapped, for 30 minutes. Roll thin — the sheet should be translucent enough to read a hand through it. Cut into squares of approximately 7–8 cm. Place 1 teaspoon of filling at the centre of each square, fold to a rectangle, and press the edges firmly to seal, expelling any air. The sealed edge should feel tight and resist gentle pressure.
5. 5
   Cook the tortelli in abundant well-salted boiling water. They are done when they rise to the surface and the pasta at the sealed edge yields to gentle pressure without resistance — 3 to 4 minutes from the return of the boil.
6. 6
   Meanwhile, melt the butter in a wide pan over medium heat with the sage leaves. Allow the butter to foam and subside until it turns a pale gold and the sage leaves are crisp — the aroma shifts from raw dairy to lightly nutty. Remove from the heat.
7. 7
   Lift the tortelli with a slotted spoon directly into the butter pan. Toss briefly. Plate in shallow bowls, spoon over the remaining butter and sage, and finish with abundant grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Serve immediately — the tortelli should arrive at the table with the butter sauce still foaming at the edges.