Suppose you want to know how to eat Mostarda as prepared by traditional families during the Christmas holidays around Italy. In that case, you’d better choose between a spicy or sweet recipe and make your homemade Mostarda.
It has nothing to do with the French or American mustard, the Italian version is called Senape. It is an ancient Roman condiment, often obtained from grape must. You can find a variety of delicacies to enjoy with meat, fresh egg pasta, or a selection of cheese. In Bologna, it is a dark-colored jam with a sour taste made with quinces, oranges, and mixed fruit. It is normally used to prepare local biscuits and pies. There is also a slightly mustardy version, used to season meats. Mostarda from Mantua is mostly made with quinces and pears, two of the ingredients to make pumpkin ravioli. In Tuscany, Mostarda is made with grapes, apples, pears, vin santo, and candied citron, and it goes well both with boiled and roasted meats. Mostarda calabrese, produced with cooked grape must, is purified with ash and mixed with flour and chocolate.
Preparation of pumpkin ravioli filling
The filling needs to rest in the refrigerator for at least all night to blend the flavors blend. Take the pumpkin and cut it into slices. Put in the oven to bake. While the pumpkin is baking, collect the amaretto biscuits ( n.6) in a bowl and crumble them by hand. You can also use a meat grinder for a finer result. Add a small amount of Mostarda and mix it all. It’s very fine. Once the pumpkin is cooked, let it cool down, dry, and lose as much water as possible. Then remove the cooked pulp using a spoon and pass it in a potato masher. Please put it in a bowl. Then add the crumbled amaretti to the pumpkin, mix with a spatula, and pour the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, incorporate, and add the egg and the lemon. Add salt, and pepper and season with nutmeg once the egg is completely mixed with the filling. Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to rest overnight, preferably for 24 hours.
For the filling
Serve 6 – n 8 pumpkin tortelli per person
500 g delica pumpkin already clean from seeds and filaments
50 g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese grated
1 medium egg
30 g of finely cut Mantuan Mostarda
6 Amaretti biscuits crunched roughly with your hands
½ lemon peel
Nutmeg, fine salt, and pepper to taste
Tortelli and tortelloni are topped with a butter and sage sauce. Enjoy!
Preparation of Mantua Mostarda
Clean the quinces, peel them, and remove the core. Cut them into slices, take a large bowl, mix them with sugar, and let them rest for 24 hours. Drain all the juice and put it in a pan; let it thicken for about 10 minutes. Please put it back in the fruit and allow it to rest for another 24 hours. After these 24 hours, repeat the operation for a second time. After these 24 hours, boil the juice and the fruit for a few minutes, then turn off the gas and let everything cool down. Finish your Mantua mustard by adding the mustard essence once cold. Mix the mixture well. Once the operation is finished, put the preserve in airtight jars and close them immediately.
Serve a small amount of the specialty in a bowl and enjoy it with a selection of cheese you can cut into cubes before serving.
For the Mostarda :
1 kg quinces or peers, 500 g sugar, Senape essence (14 drops)
