Peeping Toms and pumpkin pasta
Peeping Toms and pumpkin pasta
Guests may blush at the story behind this pumpkin tortelloni.
Once upon a time the goddess Venus arrived at a tavern on the outskirts of Bologna, Italy. The innkeeper was so captivated by her beauty that he peeked through the keyhole as she was taking a bath. The polite version of the story says that all he could see was her navel and that such was its magnificence that he rushed to his kitchen and created tiny proscuitto-stuffed tortellini pasta rings in its image.
Tortellini are traditionally served in a broth bath so as to capture all elements of the original voyeurism. I don’t terribly like pasta in my soup so I was delighted to discover that the invasion of Venus’ privacy was not a first for the innkeeper. He had done it before, and with a larger lady.
Tortelloni are similarly belly-button shaped but bigger (usually about 5g as opposed to 2g each), with a vegetable stuffing and a sage-butter sauce (perhaps the second victim had got out of the bath and was applying moisturiser).
This story is horrible on so many levels. And I am deeply disappointed in myself that I want the pasta more than I want to complain about the romanticising of a Peeping Tom. A wooded Semillon is an ideal way to forget his behaviour and my own response to it. The fruity qualities of the wine combined with its honeyed, waxy notes and toasty, lingering finish make it a must with pumpkin tortelloni.
And while you are eating and drinking, be cheered by the fact that the term Peeping Tom originally comes from the legend of Lady Godiva and the sex-pest in question was struck blind (and in some versions of the story dead) by watching her ride naked through the streets of Coventry.
PUMPKIN TORTELLONI with SAGE BROWN BUTTER and WALNUTS
SERVES FOUR
Dough
3½ cups of 00 pasta flour (or cake flour if you can’t get pasta flour)
2 t salt
4 eggs
1 T olive oil
❶ Mix the flour and salt together.
❷ In a separate bowl mix the eggs and oil together.
❸ Make a well in the flour and gradually add the egg
mixture. Mix until well combined. If the dough is too dry, add a few drops of water. If it is too sticky add a little more flour. Knead until smooth and elastic.
❹ Wrap the pasta dough in cling-wrap and set it aside to rest for an hour.
❺ Roll the pasta dough out with a pasta machine or a rolling pin. Dust with a little flour between each roll.
❻ Cut out pasta circles about six centimetres in diameter (a wine glass will do if you don’t have a biscuit cutter).
Pumpkin Filling
2 cups roasted, mashed pumpkin with
no liquid added
2 t chopped fresh sage
½ cup grated fontina cheese
½ cup mascarpone
4 T brown sugar salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
❶ Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
❷ To assemble, lace half a teaspoon of pumpkin filling
in the centre of each pasta circle.
❸ Brush the edge of half the circle with cold water.
❹ Fold the dough over to form a half-moon shape and press the two pieces of pasta together to seal. Take care to push out any air bubbles as you go – air bubbles hit boiling water and burst!
❺ Wet one point of the folded edge and bring the other point over, pressing together. You now have your tummy-button shape. Place them on a baking sheet dusted with flour and cover until you are ready to cook them.
❻ To cook the tortelloni, bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil.
❼ Add the pasta – at which point the water will stop boiling.
❽ Cook the pasta at a simmer because if the water boils vigorously the tortelloni can burst.
❾ After they rise to the top, let them cook for one to two
more minutes.
Sage brown butter with walnuts
16 T butter
big handful (about 30) fresh sage leaves
small handful (about 15) walnuts
sprinkle of pumpkin seeds
salt and pepper to taste
❶ Melt the butter over a medium heat. The butter will turn light brown and begin to foam.
❷ Add the sage leaves and cook until crispy.
❸ Add the walnuts and seeds and toss in the buttery deliciousness.
❹Remove the pan from the heat and pour over the pasta.
