Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Pumpkin Tortelloni in Creamy Marinara

Tortellini is a ring shaped pasta.A bigger version of tortellini is Tortelloni.These are usually filled with pork or other meat and sometimes with pumpkin or butternut squash.I have tried to recreate a pumpkin tortelloni using spring roll wrappers as I had seen on food network or rather tweaked a butternut squash tortellini from Everyday Italian. Here's my version of pumpkin tortelloni.

Ingredients:

Spring roll wrappers: atleast 6

Sauce:

Butter/Olive oil:as needed to saute onion
Heavy Cream:1/4 cup
Marinara sauce: 1/2 cup+
Dried Basil: 1/2 tsp
Onion: 1 medium chopped
Garlic: 1-2 cloves minced

Filling:

Pumpkin: 2 cups cubed
Bread crumbs: 1-2 tbsp I used cheese flavoured italian breadcrumbs
Oregano:1/2 tsp
Ricotta cheese:2-3tbsp

Salt&pepper:as per taste

Preparation:

Peel and cube the pumpkin and cook it.I have simply steamed the cubes adding a little salt for 10-12 minutes.You can either roast them,microwave or stirfry them.Cut the springroll wrappers into small squares.You can buy smaller wrappers and even use round shaped wrappers(not Vietnamese).I had big rectangular wrappers and I cut each into 4 squares.Make sure you keep the squares on a dry place.


Mash the cooked and cooled pumpkin using a spoon/masher/weapon of convenience and add oregano,pepper,breadcrumbs and ricotta cheese and mix well.You can add any spices as you want,only thing is the filling should not be watery/liquid.Now the filling is ready.


Once the filling is ready,take each wrapper,put a small spoonful of filling in the centre.wet the edges of the wrapper with water and bring together opposite edges to form a triangle.Make sure the edges are securely closed and press little around the filling so that it does not comeout.Now dampen the bottom corners of the triangle and bring them together to form a ring,securing them with wet hands.Now tortelloni is ready.Place it on a dry baking sheet.Do so with all the squares or until all the filling is used up.Place the tortellonis side by side on a plate/baking sheet .



Bring water to boil in a pan.Add little olive oil and salt to it.Once water boils,simmer and add the tortelloni 1 or 2 at a time to this.We are cooking the tortelloni now.You have to be careful here as they take only seconds to cook.This also depends on the thickness of the wrapper,I suppose.Mine was papery thin and took only under 10seconds to cook.You can also switch off the gas while cooking them,so that they are not overcooked.Remove the cooked tortelloni one by one using a slotted spoon and place on the baking sheet without touching each other.If you pile them together,they become sticky and mushy.Now the tortelloni is ready.


Heat a pan with olive oil/butter.Add chopped onions and crushed/minced garlic to it and saute.Once the onion turns transparent,add marinara sauce,salt,pepper and little basil and let it simmer for a few minutes..You can add chopped/pureed/crushed tomatoes instead of marinara sauce.I had store bought marinara so I used it.Then add the cream and heat through for 1-2 minutes.The sauce is ready and dish can be served.


You can serve it whatever way you want-dipping the tortelloni in sauce,pouring the sauce over the pasta or keeping side by side.I put some tortellonis(neatly folded to rectangle shapes) in a serving bowl and poured the sauce over it.You can serve it with any sauce you like.





I am not a pumpkin lover and it is the last on my list of veggies.I do not hate it but somehow avoid it.But this tortelloni made me buy more pumpkin during my last visit to the grocer.Ofcourse,this is a bit difficult recipe,as it takes time to form the tortellonis(for me atleast) and the first time I made it,some opened up,despite securing tightly,because I had overcooked them,but yes,all the effort is worth it once you taste a cooked tortelloni.You will fall in love with the pumpkin-you will not feel you are digging into pumpkin of all the items.The other ingredients shadow the pumpkin very well during tasting while all the healthier aspects of pumpkin are got as well.

This pumpkin tortelloni is my entry to AFAM-Pumpkin,an event started by Maheshwari of Beyond the Usual and currently hosted by Madhuram of EgglessCooking

Award Time Again:

I have been awarded the"Rocking Girl Blogger Award" by Usha of VegInspirations.THANKS A TON USHA for thinking me as a rocking.Its a rocking award.Congrats to you too on yours.You ROCK too.

15 Comments:

anudivya said...

You made the Tortelloni!!! I am speechless

Cham said...

Using spring roll wrap u made tortelloni, wow, the dish is very inviting, pretty color too!

Deepthi Shankar said...

soo yummy ... looks delicious

Deepthi Shankar said...

soo yummy ... looks delicious

Sagari said...

love that creamy sauce ,yumm

Sum Raj said...

wooo guess it hs got lots of work..:(...how come u prepare?..i looks delicious nd tempting pic..

raaji said...

you made this tortelloni....
i just couldnt believe it......
aa love that marinara sauce on the top

Jude said...

Ooh yeah.. Pumpkin with cheese.. Can't go wrong with that.

Yasmeen said...

Looks delicious,very innovative:)

PG CakeCraft said...

hi, just visited ur wonderful blog and i fell in love with ur pumpkin tortelloni. i'm going to use up my spring roll wrappers (that has been sitting in my fridge)& make these lovely tortelloni.thanx 4 the idea & recipe.

Usha said...

What an innovative way to make tortellini...looks fantastic..congrats on your award and thanks for your kind words :)

Uma said...

ooh, yummy! thanks for the step by step instructions.

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow this looks simple and awesome.

Beyond Curries said...

That's a keeper Sweatha. Thank you for such a fabulous entry. As you have mentioned dealing spring roll wrappers is not that easy. The first 2 or 3 would be messy, then we will get used to it. I have tried samosas with these wrappers and baked them with the potato filling. It comes out very crisp.

Unknown said...

Perfect taste of autumn!

Thanks for visiting my Blog

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