Ravioli di Zucca con Amaretti Pumpkin Ravioli with Amaretti Cookies Ingredients (serves 6) For the filling: • 1 small pumpkin 500g • 3 amaretti cookies • 2/3 cup minced candied fruit (optional) • 2/3 cup freshly ground Parmesan cheese • salt and freshly ground pepper • freshly ground nutmeg
For the Sauce: • 1⁄2 cup butter • 1 handful of fresh sage leaves • 1 cup fresh Parmesan
For the pasta Preheat the oven to approximately 200°C, bake the whole pumpkin for around 50 minutes or until tender. With a rolling pin break the amaretti biscuits into small pieces. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the flesh, discarding the seeds. Mix the pulp of the pumpkin with the amaretti biscuits, candied fruit, Parmesan cheese, nutmeg salt salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Roll out the fresh pasta very thinly on a pasta board (or similar surface) and place teaspoons of the mixture in a line about 5-6 cms apart.
Fold over the half of the pasta without the mixture onto the other half that is holding the mixture. With your finger press down firmly between each ‘mound’ and then use the pasta cutter to separate each ravioli. Boil a large pot of water, add a handful of salt and then the ravioli, they should rise to the top in only a few minutes. In the meantime melt the butter and sage in a frypan, being careful not to brown the butter. Add a half ladle of the water from the pasta to the butter as this prevents the butter from burning and elongates the sauce. Let the sauce reduce for a minute or two. When the ravioli are cooked add them to the frypan and toss in the butter being careful not to break them, serve immediately with fresh sprinkling of Parmesan and ground pepper.
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