Name: Tortelli Maremmani with Carrot Cream and Black Truffle
Ingredients: Pasta Dough; 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 5 eggs; Pinch Salt; Tortelli Filling; 1 pound fresh spinach, stemmed, washed, leaves torn into pieces; 1-1/2 cups ricotta cheese; 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese; 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg; Salt and pepper to taste; Pumpkin Cream; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped; 2 1/2 to 3 cups pumpkin, peeled and cut into small chunks; 3/4 cup water; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; Salt and pepper; 1 teaspoon thyme leaves; 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks); 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese; Shavings black truffle

Ingredients

Pasta Dough
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
5 eggs
Pinch Salt
Tortelli Filling
1 pound fresh spinach, stemmed, washed, leaves torn into pieces
1-1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Pumpkin Cream
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 to 3 cups pumpkin, peeled and cut into small chunks
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Shavings black truffle

Directions

To make the dough:
Dump the flour on a work surface and sprinkle it with the salt. Make a hole in the center of the flour and crack the eggs into the hole. Whisk with a fork to break up the eggs. Use your hands to bring the flour from inside the wall into the eggs to create a soft dough. Knead into a ball. Cover and let dough rest for 30 minutes.
To make the filling
Sauté the spinach until it wilts down; or you may boil it in water for 5 minutes. Drain the spinach well, squeeze it dry and coarsely chop it. Place it in a bowl and stir in the ricotta cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and salt, pepper and nutmeg. When well mixed, put the filling in a large pastry bag or a gallon freezer baggie. You may also use two spoons to place the filling on the pasta, but that will take more time.
To make the tortelli
Divide dough into 4 pieces and roll into a piece thin enough to run through a pasta machine. Feed each piece of dough though the rollers of a pasta machine until the next-to-the-thinnest-setting. Cut the pasta into 14-inch long sheets.
Space 1 teaspoon of the filling about 1-1/2 inches apart on a sheet of dough, about a third of the way from the edge. Bring the other edge of the pasta strip over the filling mounds and press down with your palms in between the mounds of filling. Use a ravioli wheel to cut between the mounds, making tortelli about 1-inch square. Place the tortelli on flour-dusted towels in single layers. Set aside while you make the rest of the tortelli and the sauce. (All of the scraps left behind when you are cutting out the tortelli with the pastry wheel can be rerolled to make more tortelli.)
To make the pumpkin cream
Sauté the onion in the olive oil until wilted. Add the pumpkin and water, cook until pumpkin becomes soft. Add salt and pepper and thyme leaves. Transfer the mixture to a food processor, blender, or use an immersion blender to puree the mixture until smooth. Stir in the olive oil; return to the pan and keep warm.
In another sauté pan, melt the butter; add the cheese and keep warm.
Boil the tortelli in salted water until they bob to the top of the water. Take a couple tablespoons of the cooking water and mix it into the butter sauce. As the tortelli are cooked, add them to the sauté pan to coat them with the sauce.
To serve, put a puddle of the pumpkin cream sauce in the bottom of each serving dish. Arrange several sauced tortelli on top of the pumpkin and then shave the truffle and place the shavings over the top of the tortelli.
When pumpkin is not in season, you may substitute other vegetables like carrots or potatoes, which are readily available.