RECIPE: Make your own beautiful ricotta tortellini

What a joy it is to make your own tortellini from scratch. In this recipe we use tofu ricotta as the filling, but a meaty version made from walnut mince would be just as satisfying. Serve with pomodoro sauce or northern style with butter and sage or in a broth. Perfect for the festive season or a family feast at home.

Handmade, delicate pasta is the kind of meal that is worth the effort, especially for those special celebrations or festive occasions. Clear your schedule, grab a helping hand and spend some quality time in the kitchen rolling, shaping and creating these beautiful tortellini.

For extra wow-factor, make decorative pasta by creating two types of dough: one coloured and the other plain and then lay strips of coloured dough across your plain sheets of pasta. Colour the dough with activated charcoal for black, tomato paste for orange or anything else that takes your creative fancy!

Or you can substitute the filling with a meaty walnut mince - equally as delicious as ricotta style.

TORTELLINI WITH RICOTTA TOFU FILLING

Photo by Sileo Media

Serves 4 | 75 minutes + resting

INGREDIENTS

Pasta

• 4 cups semolina flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

Tofu ricotta filling

• 250 g extra firm tofu

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 tablespoons soy milk

• 3 tablespoons vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast flakes

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• extra large handful of parsley

• large pinch of salt

• cracked black pepper

METHOD

Pasta dough

1. Into a large bowl, stir together the semolina flour and the salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in approximately 1 ½ cups of water a little at a time. Stir until combined, then use your hands to form a dough. If it's too dry, add a dash of water; too wet, sprinkle in extra flour. You want a soft but not sticky or wet dough.

2 . Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

Tofu ricotta

3 . Add all ingredients to a food processor. Blend until it reaches a smooth consistency. Test seasonings.

Tortellini

4. Divide the dough into 3-4 pieces. Take 1 piece and cover the others to prevent them from drying out. Using a rolling pin or pasta machine, and a generous dusting of flour, roll each piece into a large rectangular sheet (setting 4 of a pasta machine)

Photos by Sileo Media

5. Cut the sheet into 4 cm squares (or thereabouts). I like to use my fingers as a measuring guide. Spoon a small amount of ricotta filling into the centre of each square, about the size of a chickpea.

6. Fold the square in half diagonally, pressing together to make a triangle. Grab the bottom corners and wrap them around your index or middle finger and join together. Press the ends together.

7. Repeat with the remaining pasta and filling and set aside on a towel or cloth. Allow to air dry for at least 30 minutes. To cook:

8. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook tortellini in batches for about 5 minutes or until al dente. Drain carefully. Serve with a simple vegan butter sauce, tomato sauce or northern style in brodo (broth).

Photo by Sileo Media