Tortéi de Abóbora

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Pasta machine or long rolling pin
• •Wide 5-liter pot
• •Wide sauté pan
• •Baking tray
• •Slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the pumpkin

   Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Rub the pumpkin wedges with 1 tablespoon oil, set them cut side down on a tray, and roast until the flesh is soft enough to mash with a spoon, about 35 to 40 minutes. Roasting drives off water and concentrates the sweetness. Watery pumpkin makes watery filling, and watery filling opens pasta in the pot. Anota aí.

   Cabotiá or kabocha is best because it's dense and dry. If your pumpkin is very watery, mash it and cook it in a dry pan for a few minutes until it holds together like a thick paste.
2. 2

   Make the dough

   Pile the flour on the counter or in a wide bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs, olive oil, and salt, then beat the center with a fork, pulling in flour little by little until it turns shaggy. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough feels smooth and springs back when pressed. If dry flour won't join, add water 1 teaspoon at a time. Too much water makes sticky dough that needs more flour later, and more flour makes tough pasta.

3. 3

   Rest the dough

   Wrap the dough and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This is not decoration time. Resting lets the flour hydrate and the dough relax, so it rolls thin instead of fighting you like a little rubber ball.

4. 4

   Build the filling

   Scoop the roasted pumpkin from the skin and mash it well. You should have about 1 3/4 cups mashed pumpkin. In a small pan, cook the onion over medium heat until soft and see-through, about 5 minutes, then add the garlic for 1 minute, just until you smell it. Stir this refogado into the pumpkin with the cheese, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. The filling should be soft but hold a mound on a spoon. If it slumps and spreads, add breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon at a time. The pasta can only hold a filling that holds itself.

5. 5

   Roll it thin

   Cut the rested dough into 4 pieces and keep the pieces you're not using covered. Roll one piece through a pasta machine, or with a rolling pin, until thin enough that your hand is faintly visible through it but not so thin it tears. Dust lightly, not heavily. Flour keeps sticking away, but too much flour blocks the seal.

6. 6

   Fill and seal

   Cut the sheet into 8 cm squares. Put 1 teaspoon filling in the center of each square, fold into a triangle or half-moon, and press firmly around the filling to push out air before sealing the edges. Air pockets expand in boiling water and burst the tortéi. Pinch the edges with your fingers or press with a fork, then set them on a floured tray in one layer.

7. 7

   Cook gently

   Bring a wide pot of salted water to a lively simmer, not a violent boil. Drop in the tortéi in batches and stir once so they don't stick to the bottom. Cook until they float and the dough looks tender but still has a little bite, about 3 to 5 minutes. Crowding the pot drops the temperature and knocks the pasta around, and then everyone gets nervous for good reason.

8. 8

   Butter and sage

   While the tortéi cook, melt the butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and cook until the butter smells nutty and shows golden specks, about 2 to 3 minutes. Pull the tortéi from the water with a slotted spoon and lay them into the butter with 2 tablespoons of pasta water. Toss gently until glossy. Stop before the butter goes dark and bitter. Browned is flavor. Burnt is punishment.

Chef Tips

• •Use pumpkin when it's good, usually when it's cheap, dense, and heavy for its size. If the squash is watery and pale, cook something else or dry the mash in a pan. I won't let a tired vegetable make you think you failed.
• •The honest shortcut: use wonton wrappers if Tuesday is being rude. It won't taste like fresh pasta dough, and the texture is thinner, but it will still get real pumpkin on the table. The shortcut I won't hand you is powdered filling or packet sauce pretending to be dinner.
• •Do not overfill. One teaspoon looks stingy until you try to seal it. Filled pasta is not a suitcase.
• •Serve it with sautéed couve or a sharp green salad. Tortéi is rich and sweet, and something green keeps the plate honest.
• •Freeze the shaped tortéi in one layer on a tray, then bag them. Boil from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes. A freezer with homemade tortéi in it is a very civilized freezer.

Advance Preparation

• •The pumpkin filling can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the fridge.
• •The dough can rest in the fridge up to 24 hours. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling.
• •Shaped tortéi freeze well for up to 2 months. Freeze on a tray first so they don't glue themselves together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 345g)