Tortelli di zucca, cappellacci di zucca or ravili di zucca is a traditional dish which I always thought I should prepare once and that finally I made it for my family and for you!
This recipe of “pumpkin ravioli” (if I may translated in this way) has its roots around the city of Mantova, but you can find many different variation in the town of Ferrara (without amaretti), Piacenza (with the addition of ricotta), Cremona (with the sweet fruit mustard of Cremona, not to be confused with Dijon mustard), Pavia (where they use tomatoes with sausages for the sauce) and Reggio Emilia (less nutmeg and less mustard but more Parmesan cheese).
This specialty is are one of the most iconic dishes within the culinary repertoire of northern Italy. It should be best prepared with the “zucca mantovana” (a dry-fleshed yellow pumpkin) that has the best consistency for thefilling. The filling traditionally also takes crumbled amaretti biscuits and frequently “mostarda di Cremona” (a sweet, apple and fruits based sweet preserve) plus grated Parmesan cheese. The dough is regular fresh egg pasta (1 egg every 100 g flour), either shaped like a tortello (as I did) or like a square ravioli. I also saw different shapes, but is really up to you and how much time you would like spend for this fancy dish.
The addition of nutmeg to the filling and the herbs for the butter are essential and they give to this dish a rich and very enjoyable taste.
The version I made is without amaretti (I simply did not have them on hand), but I added a little bit of breadcrumbs the make the texture little stiffer.
Tortelli di Zucca - Pumpkin Ravioli
Ingredients
- 400 g flour
- 4 eggs
- salt to taste
Filling
- 800 di sweet yellow pumpkin (best if zucca Mantovana)
- 80 g mostarda di Cremona
- 100 g parmesan cheese, grated
- 80 g di amaretti (or about 2 heaped tablespoons breadcrumbs), crushed
- 1egg
- Nutmeg to taste
- Salt and white pepper to taste
Seasoning
- 5 tablespoon butter
- 12 fresh sage leaves, or to taste
- little bit fresh rosemary, optional
- Grated parmesan cheese
Procedure
- Roast the pumpkin in the oven: cut the pumpkin in the oven and cook it at 180°C for about 20-30 minutes or until soft.
- During this time prepare the dough working the ingredients until smooth. Cover or wrap with plastic foil.
- Prepare the filling: Scrape out the pulp pumpkin add the mostarda di Cremona and puree it with food processor. Add the other ingredients, combine well with the spoon and season to taste.
- Roll out the dough to thin sheets with a pasta maker or by hand.
- Shape the tortelli or ravioli as you like. I my case I made rounds of about 5 cm diameter, filled with 1 teaspoon filling, folded once and fixed the edges together. Place them on a clean towel.
- Bring enough water to boil and add salt to taste (as usually for pasta).
- In the meantime put the butter in a small pot and let it melt and just it begins to brown add sage and brown as desired. Do not burn the herbs!
- Tranfer the tortelli into the boiling water, let them cook 2-3 minutes, more or less, depending how thin you have rolled the dough, obviously the ticker, the longer the time. They will float when ready.
- Serve the tortelli, pour butter sauce on top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
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