“A simple, but refined recipe perfectly balanced in salty, sweet and sharp flavours that are perfect for a family or friends supper”
INGREDIENTS
For the pasta dough:
280g of plain flour
3 free-range eggs
Extra virgin olive oil
For the pasta filling:
3 good quality pork and apple sausages
50g of freshly grated parmesan
1 free-range egg
For the purée:
1/2 a head of celeriac, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 South African Gala apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
50ml of single cream
A knob of butter
1/2 a South African Gala apple
100ml of white wine vinegar
A few fresh sage leaves
A few walnuts, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
METHOD
To make the pasta dough, tip the flour onto a work surface and crack the eggs into a well in the middle. Using a fork, whisk the eggs, slowly incorporating the flour until it forms a paste, then using your hands, bring the dough together, adding a little water if necessary into a ball. Drizzle the work surface with a little olive oil and kneed for 15 minutes until smooth. Cover in cling wrap and leave on the side for 2 hours.
After the dough has rested make the filling. Break the sausage meat into a pan. Fry over a medium heat until browned. Allow to cool, then transfer to a food processor with the parmesan and egg. Blend until you have a grainy mixture, then spoon out into a bowl and allow to cool.
For the purée, boil the celeriac for 15 minutes until soft, add the chopped Gala apple and cook for a further 5-10 minutes. Drain and add to a food processor with the single cream and a generous pinch of salt. Blend until smooth then transfer to a small pan to reheat once the pasta is cooked.
To make the tortellini, cut the dough in half (save the other half for another time) and either pass through a pasta machine or roll by hand, scattering with a little flour if necessary. Roll out until thin enough that you can see your hand through it but not so thin it will break. Trim the ends so you have a rectangle, then cut into equal 2x2inch squares. Add a pinch of the sausage filling to each square then bring the opposite corners together to make a triangle, squeezing out the air and sealing. Put your finger in the middle and wrap the two corners around your finger and press down to seal into a tortellini; repeat until all the squares are done.
To pickle the apple, cut 1/2 a Gala into thin matchsticks and pop into a bowl with the white wine vinegar and a pinch of salt. Mix and set aside. Reheat the celeriac purée.
Bring a large pan of salted water up to a hard simmer then gently drop the tortellini in. Cook for 2-3 minutes until they rise to the surface. Whilst they’re cooking, add the butter, sage leaves and chopped walnuts to a small frying pan and fry until the butter starts to brown and the sage leaves start to turn crispy. Gently drain the pasta.
To serve, spread the celeriac and apple purée onto the plate, top with 5-6 tortellini per person. Drizzle with the sage and walnut butter and top with the picked apple.
Recipe created by Author of Milly Cookbook, Nicola Millbank
