Pumpkin Tortelli with Sage & Walnut Butter

Ingredients

For the Pasta dough:

• 3 whole eggs
• 10 ½ oz 00 pasta flour, or strong white flour

For the Filling:

• 1 small cooking pumpkin (not the carving kind, approx 1lb cooked weight)
• 3 ½ oz ricotta
• 2oz parmesan
• ½ oz mustard fruits, finely chopped, can be substituted with stem ginger
• 2 eggs, beaten, to seal the tortelli

For the Sauce:

• 1 small bunch of sage, leaves ripped
• 3 ½ oz walnuts, roughly chopped
• 2/3 cup butter
• Parmesan to serve

Instructions

1. 1
   First, roast the pumpkin. Cut it into large wedges, leaving the skin on. Take a large piece of tinfoil, big enough to completely surround the pumpkin, and put the wedges inside. Then drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. 2
   Add a couple of tablespoons of water to the pumpkin, then seal up the tinfoil parcel. Slide onto a baking tray and roast in the oven at 350 F for 45 mins or until soft.
3. 3
   Leave to cool, then scrape the pumpkin from the skin.
4. 4
   Next, make the pasta dough. Crack the eggs into the flour and mix until incorporated. Start to knead in the bowl until the dough comes together, then tip onto a work surface and continue kneading for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and there are no white specks of flour visible. If the dough feels sticky, you can knead in a small amount of extra flour.
5. 5
   Wrap the dough in tin foil and rest for half an hour in the fridge.
6. 6
   While the dough is resting, make the pasta filling. Mash the pumpkin roughly with a fork to remove any lumps, then stir in the ricotta until combined. Grate in the parmesan, then stir in the finely chopped mustard fruits (or stem ginger if using) until evenly combined.
7. 7
   Once the dough has rested, roll it out by hand with a rolling pin or you can use a pasta machine. Starting on the widest setting, feed the dough through the machine, narrowing the setting each time, until the dough is thin and supple (i.e. the second-to-last setting).
8. 8
   Cut the dough into manageable sections, about 20 inches long, then spoon teaspoons of filling in a line one inch from the long edge, leaving a generous thumb-width gap between each one.
9. 9
   Brush all the exposed dough with egg wash then fold the pasta onto itself, trapping the filling inside. Use a hooked finger to press around the mound of filling, removing any air gaps and sealing the pasta together.
10. 10
    Use a fluted pasta wheel to cut the pasta into individual pieces, then neaten off the edges if necessary.
11. 11
    The tortelli can now be frozen for up to 1 month. Open freeze on trays until solid, then portion into freezer bags until ready to cook.
12. 12
    The pasta can be cooked straight from frozen. Simmer in well-salted water for 4-5 minutes until the tortelli rise to the surface.
13. 13
    While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a wide sauté pan, add the chopped walnuts and rip in the sage. Cook for a couple of minutes until the butter has infused. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add it to the sauce, reserving the cooking water. If it looks at all dry, add a couple of tablespoons of cooking water to the pan to loosen.
14. 14
    Plate up the pasta and top with extra grated parmesan.