Borsa Pasta Cucina’s tortelloni with spinach, gorgonzola & peas

Armed with a voracious appetite, you know you’ve chosen the right place when you walk into Borsa and see the rows and rows of fresh pasta airing in the open kitchen. The warm welcome extends beyond the excellent service and comes to full fruition with freshly baked bread, grated parmesan and chill oil.

The menu sports all the Italian classics - done generously and clearly with plenty of gusto. Start with some antipasto before heading into the main event. Chefs Michael Quist, Phillip Tropeano and Pete De Marco craft pasta fresh daily and then pair it with the appropriate sauce (not to be taken lightly); the dry pasta is sourced from Abbruzzi in southern Italy. The linguine tutto mare is laden with handsome amounts of fresh seafood while the spaghetti chitarra alla carbonara is delivered with a splash of theatrics and prepared at the table.

For those who can’t choose, or just don’t want to, opt for the festa which includes antipasto, house baked bread, a variety of pastas to share, potatoes and salad for only $30 for lunch, $35 for dinner. Who says you can’t have it all?

Serves: 6 people

Preparation time: 90 minutes

Cooking time: 10 to 15minutes

• 500gm spinach pasta dough
• 500gm pasta dough

• 800 gm ricotta
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 100 gm of spinach puree
• (Spinach blanched and refreshed and pureed in a blender)
• Sauce/ per serve
• 100 ml cream
• 60 gm peas
• 45 gm gorgonzola

1. Prepare your favourite pasta dough recipe for the plain dough, for the spinach dough substitute the water for spinach and adjust if necessary.
2. Allow doughs to rest for 1 hour in the fridge.
3. Prepare the filling as the doughs rest.
4. To make the tortelloni, roll the sheets to as thin as you feel comfortable working with, cut in circles with a large cutter, pipe or place filling in the centre of the round, dab water around 1 edge to allow the past to stick, fold over 1 side to the other sealing in the filling then pick up with your fingers twist one outside edge to the other around the top of your thumb. This takes practice but the result is or can be a beautiful filled pasta, place or store on a tray dusted with semolina covered in the fridge.
5. We serve 5 pieces per portion, normally 3 spinach and 2 white or visa versa

1. Place a pot of salted water on the stove and boil.
2. In a pan just warm up the cream with the peas and gorgonzola and season with pepper but only a little salt, place the tortelloni in the water and cook for 1 minute after they float but no longer, remove with a slotted spoon or basket and place into the sauce, the salt from the water should help to season the pasta, cook in the cream for 1-2 minutes, check for seasoning and serve immediately.
3. This a simple and very beautiful pasta, it does take some practice to make the tortelloni but allow time and make sure that you roll just enough pasta sheet to cut the make 10 or so pieces and roll more, the pasta may dry out if you roll to much at a time. Happy pasta cooking.