Crayfish Tortellini with butter and herb sauce

There's something very classic about a kiwi summer and crayfish. However if you're interested in something different that the good old garlic butter BBQ style, this is a great way to impress, and stretch out the precious crayfish meat. 

I've always been passionate about Italian food, and in 2009 I took Italian cooking classes. A wonderful Italian woman was running them from her own kitchen and offering lessons of the Italian four courses from her familia recipes handed down from her Nona's Nona. Here we learned antipasti, fresh pasta, gnocchi, traditional sauces, meat dishes, and desserts - including the infamous tiramisu. 

Then in 2013 I travelled to Italy, by this time she had returned to Italy and was kind enough to host my husband and I for a week. She showed us the local sights, and each night we cooked, or shared local cuisine. It was a truely amazing experience. One thing I learned while staying with her in Italywas making fresh tortellini. Previously having learned pasta, this was a natural progression. To be completely honest though, I have never actually made the pasta. That's my husbands job and I like to keep it that way, besides he does a great job. My job is creating the filling, folding, cooking, and the sauce.

Usually I would only make the ricotta and spinach filling as I had been taught. However today we were gifted two crayfish from a friend and I decided it might be worth trying it in pasta. I did some research, but there aren't many crayfish tortellini recipes out there. So, I sort of had to make this up, luckily it turned out deliciously successful. 

If you don't want to go to the effort of making fresh pasta, just buy the fresh lasagne sheets, they will work perfectly fine, but trust me, it's not that hard and is worth the effort. I'll detail the instructions as much as possible. The recipe calls for plain flour, though you can use a mix of half plain and half wholemeal if you like. We did this time, purely because I'd run out of white flour, but it still tastes just as great. 


Ingredients (serves 4 as a main or 8 as an entree):

Pasta

• 300 grams flour
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten 

Filling

• 2 crayfish tails, cooked, shelled, finely chopped 
• 4 tbsp cream
• 1 tsp salt
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, finely chopped

Sauce

• 2-3 tomatoes, finely diced
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried dill (or 1 tsp fresh) 
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 50 grams butter
• fresh basil, to serve
• parmesan, to serve

**If you are using fresh store bought lasagne sheets, skip steps 1, 2, and 5.  

1. First prepare your pasta. In a large bowl, or a bench, dump your flour, make a well in the centre for your beaten eggs. Use a fork to gradually work the flour into the egg mix, keep going until all the flour has been incorporated, then begin to lightly knead the dough. 
2. Cover in cling film and set aside for at least 30 minutes. 
3. Prepare the filling: Mix all ingredients and set aside till ready. 
4. To make the sauce, mix all ingredients, except for butter, basil and parmesan. Rest in fridge until a few minutes before serving.
5. Once rested you can begin to roll the dough. We have a pasta machine, otherwise you can use a rolling pin, start on the largest setting, and keep running the dough through until it's on the smallest, about 2mm thick. 
6. Now cut your dough into roughly evenly sized squares, 10 x 10 cm. Place a tablespoon of filling in the centre of each square. The following instructions describe how to fold tortellini, alternatively you could place another square on top and press all four edges to make ravioli.
   
   
   
   
   
7. To fold tortellini pick them up, one square at a time, fold on the diagonal to make a triangle. Hold it in two hands, so that your index fingers and thumbs can gently press the edges along each side together, then tuck the bottom corners down and around to join each other. Press, and you have your tortellini. Place on a tray, and repeat. Rest them so that they are not touching one another. When complete, chill until required. 
   
8. When you're ready to serve, heat a pot of boiling salted water. Make sure you have everything else ready and work quickly as it doesn't take long. 
9. Drop the tortellini into the boiling water, a few at a time, till they are all in the pot, cook for 3 minutes, and when the rise to the top, they are done. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain. 
10. Meanwhile in a large saucepan, or frying pan, melt butter on a medium heat, when melted, add the tomato mixture. Cook, stirring for 3 minutes, then toss in the drained pasta, stir gently to coat, finally pour it all into a large serving dish, sprinkle with parmesan and fresh basil leaves. 

Enjoy.