Are you hungry, feel like a nibble or gorging yourself?
You don't know what you want either? Then welcome to my blog.
I'm Luca, and maybe I can give you some ideas, advice, technical notion or just make you want to eat something good.
I am 35 years old and I am a food junky. I grew up between Tuscany, Liguria, Sardinia, Germany, England and now I live in Spain.
I'm a chef with a passion for his profession and vocation. I've been through many very different kitchens and worked with various chefs. Some of them more known, some of them better and some of them you are better off not knowing ............ instead, explore new flavors, combine tastes, listen to your palate, close your eyes, breathe the food …..
and cook with love!
Luca Dessole Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tortelli di zucca alla mantovana – Pumpkin ravioli
Ingredients
3 eggs
300 gr. flour
filling
400 gr. cooked pumpkin pulp (made from a pumkin of 1.3 pounds approx.)
35 gr. amaretti biscuits ( bitter almond cookies )
50 gr. parmesan
40 gr. mostarda di mele ( a type of apple jam with mustard's essence )
nutmeg
salt and pepper
seasoning
4 tablespoons butter
some sprig of sage
Parmesan cheese
Introduction
For me one of the top 10 Italian pasta dishes. Classic and very fine. Ingenious combination of the amaretti biscuits with pumpkin and mostarda mantovana (a type of apple jam with mustard's essence ). Who would ever thought to combine almond cookies with pumpkin? I do not know, but the result is fantastic! It's a type of combination that sound strange for who is not very open to modern things and I can't image how difficult could have been at the time in 1500. But than agin, if you do not dare, you don't create anything new. If the cooks of that time had not dared, this dish would not be today a great classic of the Italian cuisine.
The harmony of this dish is given by the sweet pumpkin, spicy mustard of the "apple chutney " and depth of the amaretti bisquits.
A typical dish of the Christmas tradition, but for his goodness, I just think that if there is pumkin there is tortelli mantovani!.
Per me uno dei top 10 della cucina italiana. Classico e fino. Abbinamento geniale questo degli amaretti con la zucca e la mostarda di mele. A chi può venir in mente di aggiungere dei biscotti di mandorle alla zucca ? Non lo so, ma il risultato è fantastico! Oggigiorno un abbinamento così sarebbe probabilmente visto male sotto certi occhi restii alla cose moderne. Probabilmente sarà stato così anche ai tempi. D’ altronde se non osi non scopri e non crei niente di nuovo. Se non avessero azzardato i cuochi ai tempi, questo piatto non sarebbe passato ad essere oggi giorno un gran classico della cucina italiana.
L’armonia di questo piatto è data dal dolce della zucca, il piccante della mostarda e la profondità degli amaretti.
Un piatto caratteristico del periodo natalizio, ma per la sua bontà, io penso alla stagionalità e quindi: fin che c’è zucca c’è tortello!.
Cut the pumpkin into large pieces and place in the oven without the seeds. Bake at 160 degrees for 40 min. approximately or until it is well cooked. Let it rest and put the pulp into a bowl, discarding the peel. Add the well crumbled amaretti, the chopped “mostarda di mele “, a little nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well and let it rest in the refrigerator. If possible, prepare the filling the day before to allow time for the flavors to blend well. You can also boil the pumpkin, but in my opinion it lose a little flavor and tends to be more humid. In this last case, correct it with bread crumbs.
For the dough, amass (about 10 minutes) the flour and eggs ( 1 egg per 100 grams of flour.) until the mixture is smooth. Wrap it up with plastic film or a humid cloth and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin or the machine. Forme squares and put half a tablespoon of filling in each. Close them with pressure, and as soon as the water boils, add salt and boil the ravioli. Serve with melted butter and sage. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
