Pumpkin Tagliolini with Taleggio Cream and Crunchy Walnuts

Introduction

Our Pumpkin Tagliolini 250 g take the lead in an elegant recipe that joins the sweetness of pumpkin to the richness of Taleggio DOP. A creamy, refined main course, perfect for bringing autumn flavours to the table with a gourmet touch.

Pumpkin, Taleggio and Walnut: Why They Work Together

This dish stands on a triangle of flavours pulling in three different directions. The pumpkin brings sweetness and flesh that melts in the mouth; Taleggio, a washed-rind cheese from the Val Taleggio, brings a pungent edge and a milky fattiness; the walnuts bring tannin and crunch. Take one away and the dish falls to one side: without the cheese it is a dessert, without the walnuts a velouté, without the pumpkin a fondue.

Pumpkin in filled pasta and in pasta sheets is a tradition of the Po plain — from Mantua to the Polesine — where the most used variety is Cucurbita maxima, the one with firm, dry flesh. That is a technical choice before a matter of taste: watery pumpkins release liquid and loosen the dough. In tagliolini the pumpkin is in the pasta itself, so the sauce has to complete it, not repeat it.

The fried sage and the orange zest are not decoration. Sage brings a balsamic, bitter note that breaks the sweetness — it is why butter and sage have accompanied pumpkin across the north for centuries. The orange works on the other front: the essential oil in the zest gives citrus freshness to the Taleggio, which on its own would feel heavy after three forkfuls.

Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 1 pack of Pumpkin Tagliolini 250 g
• 200 g Taleggio DOP
• 100 ml single cream
• 50 g shelled walnuts
• 1 shallot
• 40 g butter
• Vegetable stock, as needed
• Fresh sage
• Salt and black pepper
• Zest of 1 unwaxed orange

Equipment Needed

The delicate part is the cheese cream: it wants a low heat and a base that does not get hot too fast.

• A heavy-based pan for the Taleggio cream: on a thin base the cheese separates and turns stringy instead of creamy
• A non-stick pan for toasting the walnuts dry, without fat
• A wide frying pan for the final tossing
• A fine grater or a zester for the orange: take only the coloured part, the white beneath is bitter
• A slotted spoon, because tagliolini cook in minutes and have to be moved fast

Method

1. Finely chop the shallot and soften it in a pan with the butter. Add the Taleggio, rind removed, and the cream, stirring until you have a smooth cream.
2. Toast the walnuts in a non-stick pan for 2–3 minutes, then chop them coarsely, keeping a few halves back to decorate.
3. Cook the tagliolini in plenty of salted vegetable stock for the time on the packet (about 4–5 minutes).
4. Drain the pasta al dente and toss it in the Taleggio cream, adding a ladle of cooking water if needed.
5. Finish with the toasted walnuts, a few crisp fried sage leaves and a grating of orange zest.
6. Serve at once with a grind of black pepper.

Wine and Beer Pairings

This dish adds up three difficult things: the sweetness of the pumpkin, the washed rind of the Taleggio with its pungent note, and the tannin of the walnuts. A red would clash with the sweetness here and amplify the bitterness of the nut. What you want is an aromatic white, soft enough to keep pace with the pumpkin and perfumed enough not to be erased by the cheese.

The White We Recommend

Traminer Aromatico — Italo Cescon — The aromatic wine by definition: rose, lychee, a sweet spice that on pumpkin seems put there on purpose. The softness of the sip goes along with the sweetness of the dish instead of fighting it, and the intensity of the perfume is the only thing that stands up to the pungency of the Taleggio without being covered by it. Serve at 12 °C, no colder: ice cold, the aromas close up, and those are exactly what we need.

The Creamier Alternative

Chardonnay Veneto I.G.T. — Italo Cescon — If you make the Taleggio cream generous with cream, the Chardonnay works better: it has the buttery roundness that speaks to the dairy by likeness, and a note of yellow-fleshed fruit that agrees with the pumpkin. It gives up the Traminer's aromatics and gains in body. Serve at 10–12 °C.

Craft Beer as an Alternative

MonfeneraBock — doppio malto alle castagne — Chestnut in the glass and walnut on the plate are the same idea of autumn nut: the beer carries the dish on instead of interrupting it. The toasted malt brings caramel that picks up the pumpkin, the full body carries the cream and the carbonation lightens it. Serve at 10–12 °C.

Want to know more about the style? dark and doppelbock beers

Serve It With

With a main course this enveloping you want something dry beside it: the yeast-free crackers with sesame and poppy seeds work well because toasted sesame is a cousin of the walnut, and the crunch gives relief from the creaminess of the Taleggio.

Variations and Tips

• With gorgonzola: bolder and saltier than Taleggio, so cut the cream by a third and leave out the salt. It holds together better if you add a handful more walnuts
• Without cream: melt the Taleggio with two ladles of cooking water and a spoonful of butter, off the heat. It comes out more savoury and less cloying, but must be served immediately because it tends to firm up
• With crisp pancetta: it adds salt and smoke in place of the orange zest. If you use it, skip the citrus: they are two alternative routes, not two things to add together
• With crumbled amaretto: a nod to the pumpkin tortelli of Mantua. One amaretto for four servings is enough, or the dish turns into a dessert
• If the cream separates: you turned the heat up too high. Take it off the hob, add a spoonful of cold cooking water and whisk — nine times out of ten it comes back

Frequently Asked Questions