Butternut squash soup with apple tortellini

Basic pasta dough
3 cups semolina flour
8 egg yolks
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Water as needed
1 teaspoon Salt

Filling

2 tablespoons butter
1 Vidalia yellow onion diced finely
5 apples ¼ inch dice (Mutsu or Cortland)
Sugar as needed
½ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Salt to taste

I prepare the pasta dough using a food processor. Blend the dough together, adding the water slowly at the end until it comes together in a ball. Then remove the dough from the machine needing by hand with flour for several minutes. Wrap in plastic and allow dough to rest.
Sweat, the diced onion in a small saucepan with two tablespoons of butter until translucent. Add the apples and cook until soft. This is a good time to check the taste of the filling and decide if you'd like to add a bit of sugar. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon and salt to taste. Cook down until it' resembles an applesauce.

Allow you filling to cool. This is a good time to start the soup.

Butternut squash soup

4 tablespoons butter
4 large butternut squash peeled and cubed
1 large apple, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 shallot diced finely
2 quarts fresh chicken stock
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
½ pound Gorgonzola cheese 

 



Begin by sweating, the shallots and carrots and celery in the butter adding a bit of the salt now. When the vegetables of softened.  Add your chicken stock, squash, and Apple. Bring to boil and reduced to simmer. Simmer until the squash is soft and falling apart, about half an hour. Season to taste and add nutmeg ginger and cinnamon. With a stick blender, blend soup until smooth. Check for seasoning and add lemon juice.  About 15 minutes before serving add the heavy cream. Keep the soup warm but not return to a boil. 


Roll your pasta dough through your machine until desired thickness for pasta. Form the apple tortellini and cook them for a few minutes in boiling salted water. Because the pasta is fresh in the filling is room temperature they will cook very quickly. If you're busy and want to be truly decadent you can cook your pasta ahead of time and warm thru in some butter just before plating.

Ladle the butternut squash soup and a wide and shallow bowl, with several apple tortellinis. Garnish with a nice big slice of Gorgonzola cheese.

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: none
Ease of preparation: intermediate