Tortelli di Zucca Mantovani

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg firm pumpkin or delica squash
• 150 g amaretti biscuits, crushed to crumbs
• 120 g Mantuan mostarda (mustard fruits), finely chopped, plus 2 tbsp of its syrup
• 150 g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated, plus extra to serve
• grated nutmeg
• 400 g 00 flour
• 4 eggs
• 120 g unsalted butter
• 10 sage leaves
• salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Cut the pumpkin into wedges and scrape out the seeds and fibres.
• Crush the amaretti to fine crumbs in a bag with a rolling pin.
• Chop the mostarda fruits finely and keep 2 tablespoons of their syrup.
• Pile the flour on a board, make a well and crack the eggs into it.

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 200°C.
2. Lay the pumpkin wedges cut side up on a baking tray and roast them for 45 minutes, until soft and lightly caramelised.
3. Scrape the flesh away from the skin into a bowl and mash it smooth.
4. Tip the mash into a dry frying pan and cook it over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring, to drive off the moisture.
5. Spread the pumpkin on a plate and let it cool completely.
6. Draw the flour into the eggs with a fork, then knead for 10 minutes to a smooth elastic dough.
7. Wrap the dough and rest it for 45 minutes at room temperature.
8. Mix the cooled pumpkin with the amaretti crumbs, mostarda, its syrup, the Parmigiano and a good grating of nutmeg.
9. Season the filling with salt and pepper, then chill it for at least 2 hours — overnight is better still.
10. Roll the dough into sheets thin enough to see your hand through.
11. Cut the sheets into strips 8 cm wide.
12. Place teaspoons of filling along each strip, 5 cm apart.
13. Fold the pasta over the filling, press out the air around each mound and cut into squares with a fluted wheel.
14. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
15. Melt the butter in a wide pan with the sage leaves and cook for 2 minutes, until it foams and smells nutty.
16. Cook the tortelli for 4 minutes, until the sealed edges are tender.
17. Lift them into the sage butter with a slotted spoon and turn them once to coat.
18. Serve with plenty of grated Parmigiano.