"ViLco" > wrote in message
...
> Julie Bove wrote:
>
>> I bought some. Now what to do with it? I was reading up about it
> [...]
>> I want tasty!
>
> Tortelli di zucca, then. Every area in the river Po valley has its own
> recipe, like the renowned ones from Mantova and Ferrara or the other local
> recipes. This one is from Reggio Emilia, my province. The big difference
> among the various recipes is the sour and sweet part: ground amaretti and
> mostarda*. Some recipes call for amaretti and others don't, since here in
> Reggio it's a matter of choice in my family we choose add them. Mustard,
> on the other hand, we don't like it in our tortelli so we leave it out,
> while in Mantova it's a mandatory ingredient.
>
> Tortelli di Zucca Reggiani - serves six
>
> Filling
> 1.5 kg uf butternut squash
> 100 grams crumbled amaretti (the dry ones)
> 100 grams grated very old cheese (30 months +)
> Nutmeg
> Salt
>
> Dough,
> 600 grams soft wheat flour (all purpose)
> 6 eggs
>
> Dressing
> 100 grams lard
> an onion
> a medium sized tomato
> or just butter
>
> Slowly bake the squash until a fork can enter the pulp with very few
> resistance; separate pulp from seeds and rind; put the pulp in a bowl and
> add the crumbled amaretti (if you haven0t a mortar just wrap them in
> parchment papaer and crush them with the flat bottom of a glass), the
> grated cheese, some nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Mix all well and taste
> both for salt and the sweetness from the amaretti.
> Mix well the eggs and the flour and lay the dough in a thin layer, but
> thick enough to be worked. Make it into 6 inches wide strips the longest
> you can then get the filling bowl and a couple of small spoons: using the
> 2 spoons just make quenelles of the filling and put them over the dough in
> a line:
> http://www.solofornelli.it/wp-conten...elli_zucca.gif
> After you topped a whole strip, fold the dough over the filling balls:
> http://www.ristoranteilgiglio.it/fil...gio-emilia.jpg
> With the fingers, press the dough around the filling balls taking care to
> let the air out, then just cut the dough between one tortello and
> anotherwith a rolling pin and end up by pressing the edges with a fork to
> give a better closure.
> Ready a floured cutting board or tray and put the tortelli there to rest
> about hour before cooking them.
> Prepare tha sautee with just the onion and the tomato in minced lard, or
> just melt some butter, any way you choose never forget to grate some very
> old aged cheese. Bring a pot of water to a boil, boil the tortelli for
> about 5-8 minutes, based on how thick is the dough. If 8 minutes aren't
> enough just wait and taste the dough edge of a tortello now and then. Lay
> the tortelli in the dishes in a flat layer, avoiding to superimpose them,
> then add the dressing of your choice, add the grated cheese and proceed
> with a second layer of tortelli.
> A hearthy and versatile food for winter Sundays, if one doesn't like
> amaretti or mostarda he can leave them out as many people do.
>
> Apart from the cooking time of the squash, which can also be baked in
> advance, it takes about 45 minutes to an hour of work to prepare tortelli
> for 6 persons.
>
> * whole or cut fruits preserved under a thick, sirupy, mustard-essence
> laden kind of sirup. The most famous are cremonese, with many fruits, and
> mantovana, with just pere cotogne.
> Cremonese:
> http://www.alimentipedia.it/files/im...da-cremona.jpg
> Mantovana:
> http://www.clubpapillon.it/serbatoio...o/mostarda.JPG
> Somehow some old time italian merchant or cook took the word "mustard",
> which has a precise significance in all the world, and used it to name
> this particular item, so now we're the only ones using the word "mustard"
> for something different from sinapsis hirta, brassica juncea or brassica
> nigra. Those we call them "senape".
> --
> "Un pasto senza vino e' come un giorno senza sole"
> Anthelme Brillat Savarin

Interesting! Thanks!