Chestnuts tortelli with celeriac and Grana Padano
Medium
4 people
120 min
Chef Danilo Cortellini
Nothing says Christmas like chestnuts to me! My family used to have a few trees in Abruzzo, and I grew up having them in abundance every year from October to December.
Once you get used to a peculiar fruit such as chestnuts, having them just roasted on the fire isn’t enough anymore (although still very delicious) so you have to come up with other ways to keep the interest high 🙂
Chestnuts are sweet and can also be turned into flour. They pair beautifully with ingredients like celery or celeriac and welcome rich and nutty flavours such as Grana Padano cheese.
This recipe isn’t complex but requires some love. Take your time and I assure you, you will be pleased by the flavour combination.
Ingredients
- For the chestnuts pasta
- 200 g 00 flour (or all-purpose/plain flour)
- 100 g chestnuts flour
- 3 eggs (about 165 g)
- Extra flour for dusting
- For the filling
- 180 g boiled chestnuts, peeled
- 1 yolk
- 50 gr grated Grana Padano cheese
- Grated nutmeg to taste
- Salt to taste
- A splash of warm milk to bind
- For the celeriac sauce
- 500 g celeriac, peeled and chopped
- 150 g sliced onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 20 g butter
- 1 sage leaf
- 25 g grated Grana Padano cheese
- A splash cream to blend
- Salt & pepper to taste
- For the butter dressing
- 2 garlic cloves
- 20 g unsalted butter
- 10 sage leaves
- 15 g chopped almonds
- Grated Grana Padano to sprinkle
Chef’s tip
When making pasta with chestnut flour, remember if could be crumblier than normal dough. The lack of gluten requires the use of additional 00 pasta flour (or gluten free alternatives). The filling can be stodgy if the chestnuts overcook and dry too much. Adding a splash of milk will help.