Agnolotti di Zucca (Pumpkin Agnolotti)

Start by making the pasta dough. Place the flour into the mixing bowl and make a well. Add the eggs to middle of well and a pinch of salt. With a fork, gently beat the eggs. Start on low speed with a paddle attachment and mix until a ball forms. Once ball has formed, switch to the dough hook attachment and knead until the dough is tacky but not sticky, approximately 6-8 minutes. Note: not all flours are made the same! If the dough mixture is too soft, add a little flour; if it’s too touch, add a little lukewarm water. Cover your bowl with Saran wrap and allow to rest for approximately 30 minutes. After 30 minutes have passed, remove the Saran wrap and cover with a damp kitchen towel (not a paper towel).

While the pasta is resting, make the filling. Into a medium-large saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter. When melted, saute your onions until almost translucent. When translucent, add in your walnuts and sage. Mix well. Add in your pumpkin puree and cook until heated through. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

When pasta has rested, place your dough ball onto a lightly floured surface. Cut your ball into four equal pieces. Take 1 piece (covering the remainder with the damp towel) and flatten it with your hand until it’s flat enough to run through your pasta machine (I use an Imperial machine). If you don’t have a machine, you can roll your dough out with a rolling pin. Continue to run through the machine until you have achieved a very thin strip. Continue this with the remaining pieces of dough until all are uniform.

At this point, put on a large pot of water of boil. Season it heavily with salt.

Time to pipe the filling onto the dough strips. Onto TWO dough strips, pipe about a tablespoon of the pumpkin filling (I use a disposable pastry bag—you can use a Ziploc bag if you don’t have one handy, or just use a spoon) at equal intervals along the strips. Place the strips with NO filling on top of the ones with filling and press down well around the filling. Using a pastry wheel, cut your pasta into equal-sized squares. Cover your completed agnolotti with a kitchen towel WHILE you are preparing the sauce and waiting on the water to boil.

When water comes to boil, add your agnolotti (cook a few at a time, do NOT crowd the pan). Once the agnolotti rise to the top, they are done. They will cook very quickly. Remove with a slotted spoon and set onto a plate.

To make the sauce, into a large sauté pan, add your butter and olive oil and allow to melt over medium heat. Add your onion and cook until translucent. When translucent, add your brandy and allow to evaporate. At this point, add in your dried figs and mix to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Toss the cooked agnolotti into the sauce pan and serve immediately!

Buon Apppetito!