Pumpkin Ravioli Recipe. With Balsamic Vinegar

This recipe has a story on its own, and it's an old one. Our Great Grandmother, born at the beginning of the last century in Mantova, had mastered the Ravioli di Zucca (pumpkin ravioli) after decades of practice. Unfortunately, we almost only have tales about the wonder of this recipe, as were too young to remember them. We know from stories that choosing the Pumpkin was a job in itself. It had to be at the right sweetness, otherwise the balance with the other ingredients would struggle. We know from experience that they are hard to make, to find that balance it's tricky, especially when missing such important benchmark.

We try, nonetheless, and sometimes, the result are surprisingly tasty. Here the recipe:

Ingredients for the filling (4 people)

2kg Pumpkin
100g Parmesan (grated)
10 Amaretti (Italian almond cookies)150g Fruit Mustard (apple is best)
Nutmeg, Salt & Pepper

Method:

Clean the pumpkin, dice it and cook it at 200°C till soft. Place in a mixer. Add the Parmesan, the mustard and Amaretti and mix till you get a soft paste. We recommend adding the amaretti and mustard a little bit at the time. Depending on the sweetness of the pumpkin, the taste may result too sweet and require to add Parmesan, which would then make the filling dry. See, talking about balance. Adjust salt, pepper and nutmeg to your liking.

Ingredients for Fresh Pasta (4 people)
2 Eggs
200g White Flour

Method:

Place the flour in a volcano shape, the eggs in the centre. Use a fork to incorporate the flour in a circular motion, after a little while the mixture will start to get crumbly. Then use your hands: press it, pull it, stretch it, reshape it, till the dough is soft and smooth in the appearance. Place in a plastic bag for about 20 minutes, make sure there's no air in it.

Then it's rolling time. With a machine is quite easy: work the dough through each settings, multiple times, folding and going through the same setting a couple of times. Keep going until you are happy with the thickness of your pasta. Look out for a super silky and smooth sheet, make your Granny proud!

Now to combine both. Have your sheets of pasta placed on a flat surface, place the filling on one side of the sheet. Then close with the other side. Cut to shape, press to get the air out (otherwise they will explode). If the pasta is too dry, use a bit of water on your fingers to close the ravioli.

To cook, boil salt water and cook for few minutes. This will depend how thin is your pasta. In a pan, melt a ridiculous amount of butter, with fresh sage. Add the Ravioli, let the butter sink in for a few more minutes. Serve with some more grated Parmesan, as well some drops of Balsamic Vinegar Modena IGP Red Label by Il Borgo del Balsamico.