Beer and food: Caramelised Butternut & Goat’s Cheese Rotolo with Peroni

14_01_SAB_Blog_Butternut_RotoloPeroni with Caramelised Butternut & Goat’s Cheese Rotolo with Crisp Sage, Pine Nuts & Parmesan

The beauty of this dish is that the rotolo (stuffed rolled pasta) can be made in advance and then sliced and finished off just before being served. This rich and sumptuous dish is also a winner among meat eaters.

This is a huge mouthful of some pretty rich flavours, so we recommend pairing with an ice-cold Peroni to cut the richness.

Serves 8

  • 2 kg butternut, peeled
  • 1 tbsp nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 50g soft brown sugar
  • salt and pepper
  • 100g butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 log chevin goat’s cheese
  • 1 cup Parmesan
  • 3 x 100g fresh pasta sheets
  • (recipe on page 187)
  • 1 egg white
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup pine nuts
  • 1 cup sage leaves
  • 20g rocket
  • butter

Cut butternut into large chunks and place on a roasting tray. Season with spices, sugar, salt and pepper and dab with butter. Bake in a hot oven (200°C) until the butternut is cooked and caramelised. Put cooked butternut in a bowl and add the egg, crumbled goat’s cheese, ½ cup grated Parmesan and seasoning. Lay one pasta sheet on top of a clean tea towel. Brush the bottom long edge with egg white. Lay another pasta sheet along that edge so they just overlap (about 2cm). Repeat this process with a third sheet of pasta. You should end up with a large rectangle.

Spread the butternut mix evenly over the pasta, leaving a 2cm gap the length of the edge nearest you. Brush this with egg white. Using the tea towel, roll up the pasta towards you into a neat roulade, enclosed in the towel. Tie each end of the rotolo tightly with string and place in a rectangular bain-marie (it should fit in the bath with ease), filled with boiling water. Poach the rotolo for 40 minutes, turning it after 20 minutes to make sure it cooks evenly.

Remove from the water and leave to cool. Remove the tea towel or it will stick to and tear the pasta. When the rotolo is cooled, brush with olive oil and refrigerate. To serve, cut the rotolo into thick slices, brush with butter and warm in a pan or under a grill until golden brown. Heat a little butter in a pan, add the pine nuts and sage leaves and fry until the sage is crisp and the pine nuts are golden brown. Spoon this garnish over the rotolo. Sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan and some rocket leaves dressed with olive oil.

 

* Taken from, A Life Digested, by Peter Goffe-Wood.