Don’t you just love vegetables or fruits that can be cooked in either savory or sweet dishes? The most traditional representative of this category is, of course, the Pumpkin. Soups, appetizers, main dishes, desserts, drinks – the pumpkin finds its place everywhere and the result is always delicious!
One fact that really surprised me recently is that there are actually hundreds of varieties of pumpkin. I discovered this after visiting the largest pumpkin exhibition and it turns out they are all in very interesting shapes and colors, varying in size and country of origin. Some of them are edible and some are only for decorative purposes. But that’s not all… because this year I also witnessed a world record and saw the biggest pumpkin in the whole world, weighing over one ton! If you don’t believe me – take a look at the photo 😉
Inspired by the exhibition, I decided to make these Pumpkin Stuffed Tortellini, known in Italy as Tortellini di Zucca. The recipe is easy and fun to make. It can be certainly made together by the whole family because even the kids can participate. Still, I have categorized it with medium difficulty, simply because it takes a little longer. In any case, you can be sure that the effort and time will be worth it 🙂
Tortellini with pumpkin, butter and pine nuts
Ingredients
- 300 g Semola flour
- 60 g Olive oil
- 3 Egg yolks
- 1 Hokkaido Pumpkin
- 2-3 Shallots
- 2-3 Garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp. Rosemary
- Salt and Black pepper
- 1 1/2 tbsp. Olive oil
- 2 tbsp. Pine nuts
- 40 g Butter
For the pasta:
For the filling:
For garnish:
Directions
- Peel the pumpkin and cut it into square pieces about 5×5 cm.
- Add it to a greased baking dish with the shallots and garlic cloves without peeling them.
- Season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Sprinkle with fresh or dried rosemary.
- Roast in a moderate oven (180/190°C degrees) until the pumpkin is completely tender.
- In the meantime, sift the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil.
- Knead a smooth dough, shape it into a ball and wrap with stretch film.
- Set the dough aside for at least half an hour.
- After the pumpkin has been baked, peel the garlic and the shallots. Remove the rosemary partially, leaving a little bit from it.
- Mash all the ingredients together to form a puree. You can use a fork, the mixture does not need to be smooth.
- Let the filling cool down. During this time you can prepare the forms for the tortellini.
- Roll the dough out until it is only a few millimetres thick. It’s best to use a pasta machine, but if you don’t have one at home, use a rolling pin and try to roll it out as evenly as possible.
- Cut out circles with a 5-6 cm diameter or similar sized rectangles.
- In the middle of each shape, add about a teaspoonful of the cooled filling.
- Dip your finger in a bowl of water and run it along the edge of the form to moisten. Then fold in half to make a crescent or a triangle.
- Draw the two bottom corners together to form a rounded bonnet- or a ring-shape. Press tightly to seal.
- Turn the end that is currently pointing up – down and outwards.
- Cook the tortellini in salted and boiling water for about 3-5 minutes, until all of them have bobbed to the surface of the water.
- Once cooked, drain them from the water.
- In a preheated pan add butter, some pine nuts and the cooked tortellini. Fry them on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Serve the dish warm.
