Who knows if in the tables of the dei family Gonzaga they were there too. Given that the origin of this dish dates back to the Middle Ages, and in particular in its current recipe to the sixteenth century, it is likely that it was prepared among the families of the city. Today with our partner "I love italian food " we take you to the discovery of a typical dish of Mantuan cuisine and northern Italy: the pumpkin tortelli. Much loved among the dishes that are traditionally cooked for the dinner of the Christmas' Eve, this typical filled pasta is very sweet to taste. Simple to prepare and which can appeal to all palates.
Pumpkin tortelli, between sweet and savory
This dish which belongs to the culinary tradition of northern Italy is one of the symbols above all of Mantua's cuisine. But there are many variations, such as those made between Ferrara, Cremona, Reggio Emilia. It is said that in the sixteenth century this dish was first popular as a component of poor cuisine, and then as typical of princely courts and local lords. Change their name, you go from the Mantuan "turtell", to the turtèl with the sàlsa di Piadena, in Cremona the tortèi de sòca, in Crema the turtèi cremàsch. The traditional recipe does not change much: the pasta is filled with pumpkin, nutmeg, mustard and then simply served with sauces.
The sweet flavor of the pumpkin thus mixes well with the salty flavor of the cheese or other ingredients used. The condiment that is generally used is also excellent and simple: melted butter flavored with sage. But what must not be missing and in abundance is the Parmesan.
The procedure for making this dish
Let's start with the preparation of the filling of pumpkin tortelli. We cut the pumpkin into pieces, preferably of the butternut variety, and put it in the oven to cook for twenty minutes at 180 degrees. At the end we get the pulp. We then proceed, with the help of a fork, to further chop it into a bowl. Add some breadcrumbs, salt, Parmesan cheese, mustard, nutmeg, crumbled amaretti, egg yolk. We mix and as soon as the mixture is well blended add more Parmesan.
Now let's move on to the preparation of the tortelli dough. Put the 00 flour on a surface. In the center of it, put two eggs and knead with your hands. Then we roll out the obtained dough loaves and with the help of a pasta machine, we make strips. Let's put them back on our work surface and fill them with the pumpkin-based filling. This is how we create our tortelli with the help of a washer. Let them cook for five minutes in plenty of hot water. When cooked, prepare a serving dish. We pour over the melted butter and Parmesan. Then add our tortelli, more butter and Parmesan.
- ingredients pumpkin tortelli for six portions: 400 grams of flour, three eggs, a kilo of butternut pumpkin, 160 grams of amaretti, 200 grams of mustard, 160 grams of Parmesan cheese, 50 grams of butter, breadcrumbs, salt and nutmeg as much enough.
Our video recipe was created by Giacomo Galuzzi for “I love italian food”. The dish prepared by chef Andrea Ruisi.
