Chestnut and Black Truffle Stuffed Tortellini, Acorn Squash Puree, Shaved Black Truffles and Chestnuts, Ginger Bread Crumbs, Thyme Browned Butter
There are a couple of things that people tend to mention to me regarding this blog. The first is that the pictures of the food that I make and post look really good. The second thing, which almost always follows the first, is how is anyone supposed to know that the dishes actually taste as good as they look. My answer is always the same. The only way you can be sure is to trust me. I spend on average about 10-15 hours a week cooking. Aside from the dishes that I post, there are hundreds that I prepped, cooked, plated and photographed that never made it past my kitchen. Some of them just didn't look right. Others didn't taste right. And a few were just complete disasters. So basically what I'm getting at is that nothing makes it onto this blog unless it passes my standards which are pretty high.
At this point you may be wondering, if you haven't stopped reading already, what this drivel is all about and how it pertains to the dish seen above. The reason I decided to address this topic with this post is that this is one of the best tasting (maybe the best) plates of food I've ever posted on here. I finally, after many many attempts, got the pasta for the tortellini just right. And everything on the plate had a purpose and melded perfectly together. Oh yeah, and there are black truffles in and on the tortellini. So if you still don't trust my judgement just ask Haley what she thought.
I painstakingly roasted and shelled the chestnuts, which is not the most fun thing to do. They are much easier to get into when the are hot. But when they are hot they burn your hands. After the nuts were shelled I cooked them in chicken stock til they were soft. I blended the nuts with heavy cream, chopped truffles and a soft truffle cheese. I passed the puree through a fine mesh tamis and chilled it.
I made the pasta and rolled it to the thinnest setting on my pasta machine. I cut out circles with a 3 inch ring mold and brushed them with an egg wash. I placed a small spoonful of the chilled puree into the center of the pasta rounds, folded them in halve, sealed them and twisted them into tortellini. If you want to know how to shape tortellini just check out youtube. I have no idea how to explain it without confusing the hell out of you. I chilled the tortellini until I was ready to cook them.
I broke down the acorn squash and cut it into small pieces which were cooked in water until soft. I seasoned the squash with salt, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg and brown sugar and pureed it with heavy cream and butter. The puree was kept warm while I got everything else together. I placed two spoonfuls of the puree on opposite sides of the bowl and swiped the spoon through it.
I placed a big knob of the butter in a pan with a few sprigs of the thyme cooking it to brown the butter. While I was doing this I placed the tortellini in a pot of boiling salted water. Once they started floating I boiled them for an additional minute before straining them and adding them directly to the browned butter and thyme. I tossed them in the butter to coat and placed them onto the plate. I spooned some of the butter onto the plate as well.
I shaved some of the chestnuts and black truffles on top of the tortellini and finished the dish off with some crumbled gingerbread cookie.
Product:
Organic Acorn Squash - Culton Organics
Organic American Chestnuts - Culton Organics
Grass-Fed Butter - Hillacres Pride
Black Burgundy Winter Truffles - D'Artagnan
At this point you may be wondering, if you haven't stopped reading already, what this drivel is all about and how it pertains to the dish seen above. The reason I decided to address this topic with this post is that this is one of the best tasting (maybe the best) plates of food I've ever posted on here. I finally, after many many attempts, got the pasta for the tortellini just right. And everything on the plate had a purpose and melded perfectly together. Oh yeah, and there are black truffles in and on the tortellini. So if you still don't trust my judgement just ask Haley what she thought.
I painstakingly roasted and shelled the chestnuts, which is not the most fun thing to do. They are much easier to get into when the are hot. But when they are hot they burn your hands. After the nuts were shelled I cooked them in chicken stock til they were soft. I blended the nuts with heavy cream, chopped truffles and a soft truffle cheese. I passed the puree through a fine mesh tamis and chilled it.
I made the pasta and rolled it to the thinnest setting on my pasta machine. I cut out circles with a 3 inch ring mold and brushed them with an egg wash. I placed a small spoonful of the chilled puree into the center of the pasta rounds, folded them in halve, sealed them and twisted them into tortellini. If you want to know how to shape tortellini just check out youtube. I have no idea how to explain it without confusing the hell out of you. I chilled the tortellini until I was ready to cook them.
I broke down the acorn squash and cut it into small pieces which were cooked in water until soft. I seasoned the squash with salt, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg and brown sugar and pureed it with heavy cream and butter. The puree was kept warm while I got everything else together. I placed two spoonfuls of the puree on opposite sides of the bowl and swiped the spoon through it.
I placed a big knob of the butter in a pan with a few sprigs of the thyme cooking it to brown the butter. While I was doing this I placed the tortellini in a pot of boiling salted water. Once they started floating I boiled them for an additional minute before straining them and adding them directly to the browned butter and thyme. I tossed them in the butter to coat and placed them onto the plate. I spooned some of the butter onto the plate as well.
I shaved some of the chestnuts and black truffles on top of the tortellini and finished the dish off with some crumbled gingerbread cookie.
Product:
Organic Acorn Squash - Culton Organics
Organic American Chestnuts - Culton Organics
Grass-Fed Butter - Hillacres Pride
Black Burgundy Winter Truffles - D'Artagnan