Vegan Flavour

We recently caught up with our chefs at the Edinburgh Castle tearooms who have been rustling up some new vegan dishes!

This delicious butternut squash tortellini with a butter bean and sage sauce is the latest edition and is vegan friendly, perfect for anyone who has embraced Vegan-uary this month…

Ingredients

Pasta

• 150g semolina flour
• 150g all-purpose flour (plus more for kneading and rolling)
• 120g aquafaba (drained from one can of chickpeas)
• 2 tbsp. water

Filling

• 500g roasted butternut squash 
• 3 tablespoons bread crumbs 
• ½ teaspoon salt + additional to taste
• 3 tablespoons plain dairy-free creamer (coconut)
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Lemon oil
• Fried sage
• Pea shoots

Butter bean and sage sauce

• 250 grams of dry butter beans
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2-3 springs of sage
• 300ml almond milk
• 1ltr vegetable stock

Method for the pasta

1. Mix semolina flour and all-purpose flour.
2. Drain a can of chickpeas mix in aquafaba and water.
3. Mix until combined and knead with your hands for a minute until the dough is smooth. If the dough is too wet and sticky, add flour – one tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too dry, you can add more water – one tablespoon at a time.
4. Cover in plastic wrap and set dough to rest in the refrigerator for 30 mins
5. After 30 minutes of resting, remove dough from plastic wrap. Sprinkle a light layer of flour roll dough until smooth and thin. 
6. Cut the pasta to required size. Place a small amount of Butternut squash filling in the centre of the dough. This depends on the size of your circle. We used about a teaspoon of butternut squash for a circle that was 2.5 inches wide. 
7. Spread a small amount of water around the outside of the dough with your finger. Place another dough circle on top and press around the edges to seal then twist into shape 
8. To cook – drop a few Tortellini into salted boiling water for 4-5 minutes. They will start to float once they’re almost finished. Remove with a slotted spoon. Don’t overcrowd your pot, cook them in batches. 

Method for the filling:

1. Peel and roast the butternut squash, add creamer, nutmeg and purée until smooth split the purée in to two portions.
2. Add the bread crumbs to one portion of the purée and season to taste, then fill the tortellini.
3. Spoon one teaspoon of butternut squash mixture onto the centre of a wonton sheet. (this is reference to the pasta sheet before being rolled to create the tortellini) Moisten all the edges of the wonton sheet and fold over. Press down firmly but gently around the filling to seal and force out air pockets. Bring the two opposite corners together, overlapping the ends, to make a small ring, then press them together.
4. Cook the tortellini in a pot of simmering salted water until al dente, about 5 to 6 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat the buttery spread in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining one tablespoon pretzel crumbs and sage. Cook until the pretzel crumbs are slightly brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice, optional. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
6. Remove the tortellini from simmering water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a serving plate. Drizzle with the lemon oil

 Method for the sauce:

1. Soak the butter beans in cold water for 6-8 hours or overnight. Discard the water the next morning. Simmer till they soften in the vegetable stock. Drain the beans and reserve the stock. Blend the beans into a smooth puree and pass through a fine sieve, if too thick add more stock.
2. Heat olive oil and fry the garlic for a minute and add the chopped sage. Now add the butter bean puree to it and mix well.
3. Add the almond milk and some of stock reserved from cooking in order to thin it down to the required consistency.  Season to taste.
4. Place the extra butternut squash puree in middle of plate then add the sauce around, place the tortellini on the plate garnish with roasted diced butternut squash, fried sage, pea shoots and lemon oil.

Bon Appetit!

See more recipes from the Castle in the blog’s food and drink section.