Tortellini of Butternut Squash, Herbs and Goat's Cheese with Watercress Sauce

There’s nothing better than the creaminess of goat’s cheese conjunct to the sweetness of butternut squash, while watercress adds another dimension of pepper. Overall, the flavours work and this opus of contrasting shades construct a very bright and colourful picture. Admittedly this is quite a time consuming recipe, but it will most certainly go down well at a dinner party or special occasion. Definitely invest in a pasta machine. They’re not very expensive to buy, they will save you time and produce optimal results in obtaining flawlessly thin pasta.

Serves 4-6

Butternut Squash Filling:

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and deseeded

1 tsp. chilli flakes

1 tbsp. sage

Seasoning

Olive oil

150g goat’s cheese, crumbled

2 handfuls of basil, torn up

Handful of Parmesan, grated

Watercress Sauce:

60g watercress leaves, stalks removed

1 egg

1 clove garlic

½ tsp. mustard powder

135ml olive oil

1 tsp. wine vinegar

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

Black pepper

Pasta Dough:

250g strong pasta flour

3 eggs

1. To make the pasta dough, if using a food mixer, add all in the ingredients and mix with a dough hook on maximum speed until the dough is firm. On a floured surface knead until smooth and elastic. Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least an hour. If using a food processor, add all the ingredients and turn on. In a few seconds it will look like breadcrumbs, leave it a little longer to almost form large balls of dough. Then knead by hand on a floured surface until smooth and elastic. Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least an hour. You can make the dough by hand but it will take much longer to do!

2. To make the pasta filling, preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Grate the butternut squash and place on a large baking tray. Sprinkle over the chilli flakes and sage. Add some seasoning and drizzle over a small amount of olive oil, and coat the ingredients all over the squash. Place in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, until it appears dehydrated.

3. Meanwhile, to make the watercress sauce place the egg, salt, garlic, mustard powder, a few grindings of black pepper and blend together. Then add the oil, the vinegar, lemon juice and watercress. Blend once more until the sauce is a colourful green. Leave aside for now and whatever you do, do not heat the sauce. Otherwise it will produce an unpleasant eggy texture.

4. Once your butternut squash is cooked and has cooled a little, place in a bowl. Mix in the goat’s cheese, basil and Parmesan.

5. Now you need to turn the pasta dough into sheets. Remove from the fridge and split into 4 pieces. Recover 3 of them and put back in the fridge, so they do not dry out. With the piece you’re working with, flatten with your hand and roll into a thick sheet through the thickest setting on a pasta machine. Then fold the two ends into the middle and run through the thickest setting 3 or 4 times again. Then lightly dust both sides with flour and run through a thinner setting, eventually running through the thinnest setting. Repeat this process with the other pieces of pasta dough.

6. To turn your pasta sheets into tortellini, cut them into roughly 10cm squares or circles. Place a teaspoon of the filling just near to the centre of each square/circle. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the edges of the pasta with water. Fold the shape in half, making sure the filling is closed. Cup your hand around the filling and gently curl round your fingers to remove the air. Seal the pasta, fold in the two flaps and press together. Once you have finished doing this with all your squares, immediately cook them in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Serve with the watercress sauce.

The Walnut Tree Restaurant bids farewell to Gordon ‘Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares’

When my brother telephoned me to say we were going to The Walnut Tree in Wales for dinner on The Royal Wedding bank holiday, there was only one thing that could resonate through my head – ‘Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares’.

In actual fact The Walnut Tree at one time attracted people from all over the UK to sample Franco Taruschio’s impeccable Italian food. But when this highly esteemed chef hung up his apron to retire in 2001, it seemed from then onwards the Walnut Tree’s zenith had ultimately come to a halt. Despite guidance from celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay on his Kitchen Nightmares television programme, the new owners still proved to be ineffectual in running a successful dining business, and the banks shut down the place in 2007. Yet a year later and the restaurant confidently stepped out of its dark days of ignominy and reasserted its legendary status when renowned chef Shaun Hill took over.

If the experience of customers since Hill’s ownership were anything like mine, then one would have hardly guessed it had been through a period of hardship. The staff were obliging and the atmosphere was surprisingly unpretentious for a place that had been recently rated as best restaurant in Britain by the UK’s biggest online restaurant guide Gourmet Britain. I cannot say I was particularly impressed that a medium bottle of sparkling water was £4, but still it is the food that matters most. I started with a cheese soufflé accompanied by a leek and potato salad, and found myself infatuated by the dominant but consummate flavour of cheddar. Following on from this and I was wowed by how tender my steak for main course was – there was no need for a steak knife. Gorgonzola and potato croquettes accompanied it; both straightforward and unoriginal, but both functioned well with the core component. Finally I was then impressed, moderately, by the milk chocolate raspberry torte. Surprisingly it was very cocoa intense despite the fact milk chocolate does not possess a high cocoa content compared to its dark spouse, while the raspberries provided a tart contrast. Interestingly its texture was almost a mousse/parfait consistency. Somehow though, to my mind, its richness made it not quite 5*.

Overall, The Walnut Tree is certainly not Italian anymore. It is more or less classical French cuisine; therefore serving very simple, but made to the highest quality, food. The menu is without question very expensive, but one can barely find fault when it comes to the actual food. It seems the days of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares are well and truly over.