Casunziei all’ampezzana

• Serves 4

• Preparation time:

• Cooking time:

Ingredients

For the handmade pasta sheets:
400 g pasta making flour
4 eggs
Pinch of salt

For the filling:
500 g medium size beetroots
300 g potatoes (desiree work well)
50 g unsalted butter
50 g parmigiano or smoked ricotta
20 g breadcrumbs
sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg

For the sauce:
100 g unsalted butter
50 g parmigiano
1 heaped tablespoon poppy seeds
16 sage leaves



Method

For the pasta:
Gather the flour on a board in a mound and make a well in the centre.
Place the eggs and salt in the well and gently combine with the flour adding a little tepid water to make a smooth compact dough.
Let rest covered at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes.

For the filling:
Steam beetroot and potatoes until just soft and a knife can pass easily through the centre.
Peel both while still hot using a tea towel to avoid burning your hands and put both through a potato ricer.
Melt the butter over a medium heat in a large saucepan and then sauté the beetroot and potato until well combined, about 5 minutes.
Add parmigiano or ricotta, salt, pepper and nutmeg and sauté for another minute.
Finely add breadcrumbs to make a smooth, dry and compact filling.
Set aside to cool completely.

To assemble:
Roll the pasta into thin smooth sheets using the rim of a glass or pastry cutter and cut out 6 cm circles.
Place a small teaspoon of filling in the centre of each disc and carefully close each piece by folding over into a crescent shape and crimping the edges to create a tight seal.

The sauce:
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
Gently add the casunziei and simmer for 5 minutes
As the casunziei are cooking, melt the butter over medium heat and add the sage leaves.
Cook until just starting to turn brown and the sage leaves have become a barely crisp.
Place the casunziei in warmed plates, sprinkle with parmigiano and poppy seeds and pour over the butter sauce.
Serve immediately.

Notes