Casoncelli di zucca with brown butter, sage and mosto cotto

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A classic pairing of pumpkin filled pasta with a brown butter and sage sauce - made a little fancy and interesting with the addition of mosto cotto, a grape syrup.

This dish is a perfect example of sweet and savoury working together in harmony. The trick is not to over do it with the mosto cotto - just a drizzle is needed to bring in that sweet companion to the pumpkin. And it’s of course important to generously salt the pasta water and smother this dish in Parmigiano Reggiano to balance. The sage and nuttiness of the brown butter brings an earthy and herbaceous vibe to this dish - all in all, a pleasure to make and eat.

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Casoncelli di zucca with brown butter, sage and mosto cotto

Serves 4
approx 60 casoncelli

Ingredients 

Pasta

• 1x batch of my Master Pasta Dough

Mosto cotto

• 1kg grapes (I used black muscatels)

Filling

• 750g pumpkin 

• 1 head garlic 

• Extra virgin olive oil

• 250g hard ricotta 

• 40g Parmigiano Reggiano

Butter sauce

• 150g unsalted butter

• 20 sage leaves

• Parmigiano Reggiano, to serve

Method 

Pasta dough

1. Make the pasta dough according to instructions here.

Filling

1. Preheat oven to 200c (180c fan/390f)

2. Cut the pumpkin into large chunks and set out on a baking sheet. Cut the top off of a head of garlic and drizzle with olive oil - then place cut side down on the baking sheet.

3. Drizzle everything with olive oil and season with salt, then roast for 45 minutes turning halfway.

4. Once cooled, remove the pumpkin flesh from the skin (should yield ~500g cooked weight) and add it to the blender. Squeeze the garlic out directly into the blender, along with the ricotta and Parmigiano. Blend to form a smooth filling. Season well with salt to taste.

5. Refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

Shaping the casoncelli

1. Divide the dough into four pieces. Work with one at a time (keep the rest covered so as not to dry out) - flatten the piece with your hand or a rolling pin before passing it through the thickest setting on your pasta machine. Fold the edges in to create a neat rectangle that fits the width of your pasta machine, and run it through the thickest setting again and repeat until your dough is uniform in shape and fits the width of the machine.

2. Continue passing your dough through the machine, working through each thickness setting until you get to setting 7 on a Marcato atlas (typically fourth to last setting on most machines). If your preference is for a slightly thicker or thinner pasta, go for it.

3. Use a knife or bicycle cutter to cut out squares of 6x6cm on your rolled sheet of dough. Use clingfilm or a clean tea towel to keep the other squares covered while you’re not working with them to prevent them from drying out.

4. Place a square with a point at north and south. Pipe some filling on the lower half and fold the south point up to meet the north point, press to seal. 

5. Roll the bottom half over once, then use your index finger on each hand to press and seal the filling on the left and right sides to form an enclosed pocket. 

6. Place each formed shape onto a clean tea towel or a baking sheet dusted with fine semolina and set aside.

NB: any leftover filling can be refrigerated or frozen to be used another time.

Mosto Cotto

1. Squeeze the juices from the grapes and strain this liquid through a fine mesh sieve in a pan. 

2. Place over a low flame and gently simmer until reduced by 1/3 or so. Skim off any foamy bits as you go. 

3. Remove from the pan and transfer to another container for the mosto cotto to cool. Don’t take it too far in the pan as it’ll continue to thicken as it cools. 

   NB: You can make this well in advance - store in a clean airtight container in the fridge for up to one month. You can pop it in the microwave for 15 seconds to loosen before serving. 

Sauce and finishing touches

1. Heat butter over a medium flame. Once it starts to bubble throw in the sage leaves and continue cooking, whirling the pan occasionally as it begins to brown. 

2. Make sure you keep whirling the pan and as soon as its suitably brown, remove from the heat so as not to take it too far. 

3. Cook the casoncelli for 2 minutes, then using a slotted spoon add directly to the brown butter sauce. Toss and whirl the pasta in the butter to coat beautifully. 

4. Divide between plates, drizzle over any extra butter in the pan, and add a drizzle of the mosto cotto. Serve with lashings of Parmigiano reggiano.