MORE PASTA - AND TORTELLI ALLA ZUCCA

My grandmother used to make pasta almost every day. This was no easy feat. In those days, one had to put their back into it; especially if you were cooking for 6 people; any number no matter how large or small was a big affair. She always had to have food that was fresh. The butcher, the produce man and the fish monger were among her daily calls, but first, in the wee hours of the morning, before anyone was up, she made dough for pasta and dough for bread. Sometimes, she'd make the bread dough at night and let it rise in the fridge until early in the morning, but rest assured, by 7:30, the ethereal scents of yeast, olive oil and oregano roamed throughout the house. Pasta would be drying on towels and before you were even out of bed, the kitchen was spotless and places were set for breakfast. One must remember, though, that this was the Italian way.

There truly is nothing like making and truly succeeding in realizing fresh egg pasta. Those transparent sheets of pasta through which you can see your hand. I have made long, indeed very long sheets of straw-colored sheets that even I couldn't imagine were possible. The egg yolk is what gives the pasta dough its gorgeous color, but it also lends itself well to stretching. I pull the dough as I crank it through the roller of my machine, thus elongating it as far as it will stretch. It is a technique which requires patience and skill lest you break the sheet or tear it in any way.

I wrote about egg pasta on April 29th in my blog entitled Tagliatelle Fatta in Casa but I'm inserting the recipe here for your convenience.

Pasta all'Uova

3 cups flour

4 eggs

4 egg yolks

Beat the eggs and egg yolks and then pour them onto the flour in the bowl of a Cuisinart. Pulse for a moment and then turn it on and continue to mix for about a minute. Once the entire body of dough comes together and rotates around the canister in one piece and leaves no residue on the wall of the canister, turn the machine off. It is done.

Place the dough on a floured wooden surface and gently knead for a minute or two to form one round ball. Put into a bowl and cover with a damp towel to rest for 30 minutes.

In the process of making Tortelli all Zucca

This makes roughly 1-1/2 pounds of pasta. It is enough to make enough pasta for a good-sized lasagna pan (a large rectangular Pyrex dish, more or less). For noodles, it is enough for 6 people as a primo or 4 people as a main course. Remember, in an Italian household, there is always more food to follow and everything is in smaller portions than here in the United States. If you are making pasta for more than 4 people, add 1 egg and a 1/2 cup flour for each additional 2 persons.

For flavored pastas, such as spinach, beet, tomato, even saffron, add 1/2 cup of puréed vegetables to the flour mixture and process in the same manner. For tomatoe, 1 tsp. tomato paste should suffice in the mix. For saffron, pour 1 tsp. hot water over 1 tsp. saffron, mix well until the strands have melted and colored the water. Beat the eggs with the saffron and add to flour and continue with the recipe as directed.

Spinach Tagliatelle

Beet Tagliatelle

For stuffing pasta (tortelli, tortellini, tortelloni, ravioli, agnelotti, etc.) add 1 tsp. milk for every egg.

As you can see from the photograph below, there is enough Tortelli alla Zucca for about 6 people. Another tray of this would be a hefty meal or double the people and you've got Thanksgiving Dinner's first or second course, which indeed this was. I always try to make sure there is a pasta course on Thanksgiving. It certainly comes in handy when you have a vegetarian or a vegan, or both, at the dinner table. I learned how to make Tortelli from a dear friend in Mantova named Amadea. She was one of the best cooks I ever knew and certainly one of the kindest women as well. Like my mother, she was a mother to one and all who came to her home  and she certainly taught me a lot about Northern Italian cooking: "non si mangia il pane colla minestra!" (Never eat bread with pasta!) In any event, mine aren't as good as hers (how could they be?) but I try. And try. And try.

TORTELLI ALLA ZUCCA

For the filling:

1 Acorn squash (halved, buttered and smeared with brown sugar, nutmeg, salt and pepper and roasted in the oven for one hour at 350º

When the squash is done, let cool and scoop out the flesh and put it into a bowl.

Add:

6 Amaretti (crushed)
1 egg
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup Grana
Salt
Pepper
Milk (for wetting the pasta)

Mix with a pastry blender or blend in a food processor until you have a thick but fine paste.

With a pasta cutter, cut a square about 2x2 inches. Take a demitasse spoon and scoop a bit of filling and place it in the center of the square. Take a finger tip full of milk and slide the milk along the edges of the pasta square and fold it into a triangle. Wrap the triangle around your index finger and press the corners with your thumb. The top of the triangle will be jutting out on top of your finger. Fold the top of the Tortelli back on itself and place on a cookie sheet lined with  a towel or parchment paper. Continue making in this fashion until you have the amount you want. I always allow 8 Tortelli per person as a second course (fish or seafood first). You'll probably have leftover filling. I freeze it for the next time.

It is wise to make Tortelli early in the day or even the night before, thus allowing the pasta to dry. If you must, you can refrigerate it but I wouldn't do it. It will be fine if you keep it in a cool, dry place until you're ready to cook them. This is painstaking and exacting work which requires skill and patience so it is unlikely that you will make these unless it's a very special occasion. Amadea made them traditionally on Christmas Eve, but she always made them for me when she knew I was coming to visit - even in the summer! Talk about love!

The Sauce!

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup Reggiano-Parmigiano
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup pine nuts
8-10 leaves of fresh sage (stems removed and coarsely chopped)
Salt and pepper
Nutmeg
Sage leaves for decoration

Heat the cream in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Add the butter and let it melt. Bring the cream to a boil and turn down the heat to the lowest setting. Add the cheese and stir to incorporate the cheese with the cream. You don't want any lumps. Add the sage, raisins and the nuts. Salt and pepper to taste and grate the nutmeg freely into the sauce. Keep in a warm place near the stove and dot with butter if necessary while the pasta is cooking.

Bring a large pot of water (about a gallon) to the boil. Add a handful of salt. Put the Tortelli in the boiling water and stir gently. The Tortelli will rise to the surface when they are done (3-5 minutes). Prepare a buttered oven proof dish and remove Tortelli with a slotted spoon as they finish cooking. When all the Tortelli are in the pan, fold in the sauce gently with a rubber spatula. Place a sage leaf on top of the Tortelli and serve immediately with grated Reggiano.

Buon appetito.