Food for My Family

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Potato Leek Casoncelli with Walnut Pesto

· · 82 Comments

A recipe for casoncelli pasta filled with potatoes, leeks, fresh ricotta, and Grana Padano, served with walnut pesto. In partnership with LaCucinaItaliana.com.
Potato Leek Casoncelli Pasta with Walnut Pesto #recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com
We have officially dipped into freezing temperatures. We covered the garden beds with straw and leaves for the year, and the final harvest picked and carried inside. The lawn was raked and bagged and then promptly littered with a fresh blanket of yellow and red leaves, and the chickens rush into the coop earlier and earlier each evening.

Inside, we’ve taken to soups and baked goods, willingly turning the oven on to help warm our cold kitchen space. And while I enjoy the contentment that comes with autumn, I’m in denial that winter is around the corner. I turn my face up to every last bit of sunshine, and I look for ways to extend the last of the garden herbs into our meals—the last lingering bits of the season.
Potato Leek Casoncelli Pasta with Walnut Pesto #recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com
Where summer meals are often quick and hasty, I allow more time spent cooking when it’s cold, and this allows for meals of fresh pasta, rolled by hand on the counter while bread or a dessert bakes in the oven. Casoncelli are a stuffed pasta that can be formed from a circle folded in half, similar to a potsticker but without the pinching, and the potato and pasta combination is similar to pierogis. They are often served tossed in a butter sauce with herbs; I’ve added a walnut pesto here to continue eeking out those summer notes.

Tips for juggling dinner and the realities of life: If you are looking for a way to work ahead, the pasta dough can be made and refrigerated wrapped in plastic wrap the night or morning before. Likewise, the filling can be stored for a day or so before having the cheeses mixed in.
Potato Leek Casoncelli Pasta with Walnut Pesto #recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com

Potato Leek Casoncelli with Walnut Pesto

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Italian 00 flour
  • ¾ cup semolina flour
  • 4 large eggs
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 ½ cups cleaned and sliced leeks
  • 1 ½ cups peeled and diced potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon white pepper
  • ¼ cup fresh ricotta cheese
  • ¼ cup finely grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh fennel fronds, optional
  • ½ cup crispy guanciale
  • walnut pesto

Instructions

  1. On a cutting board or another flat surface, mix the Italian 00 flour, the semolina flour, and the eggs with a fork until a smooth dough forms. Place the dough in the refrigerator to rest for one hour.
  2. While the dough rests, prepare the filling. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Sauté the leeks for 2-3 minutes. Add the potatoes, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon white pepper. Add water until it just covers the potatoes. Cover the pan and cook for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes and leeks are soft and tender. Mash until smooth and refrigerate until cool.
  3. Stir the ricotta, Grana Padano/Parmigiano-Reggiano, an additional ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon white pepper to the potato filling. Set aside.
  4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it is ½” thick. Sprinkle the dough with parsley, fold over once, and continue rolling until it is ¼” thick or thinner. 
  5. Cut circles 3” in diameter. Place quarter-sized balls of filling on each circle of dough. Fold each circle in half, bringing the ends together and pressing firmly to seal each filled pasta. 
  6. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the casoncelli for 3-4 minutes. Drain, reserving some of the water. Toss the pasta with 2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water and 2 tablespoons of butter. Serve topped with crispy guanciale and walnut pesto.
© Shaina
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Entree

The new American website for La Cucina Italiana, which launched this month, inspired this pasta dish. Head over for your own pasta dinner inspiration and recipes for everything from making the best carbonara to creating fresh lasagna sheets for your family recipe.
Potato Leek Casoncelli Pasta with Walnut Pesto #recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com

Reader Interactions

Comments

  20. Yummy. I need to try this tomorrow. The kids will surely like this. Anyway, thank you for posting your recipe, and I am looking forward to more. It is so helpful, especially today that we are stuck in our homes, because of the quarantine.

    Reply

  21. If you deliberate on serving this bloodless, and were going to puree the leeks, and potatoes as in Vichyssoise, i’d inform you which you want a processor. However if that is to be serviced hot, you could simply pressure the soup, after cooking, thru a colander and make contact with it good to move

    Reply

  26. This is an gluten-free appetizer or snack. Super delicious, budget-friendly, kids-friendly food. I really like this dish.

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  40. If you were going to deliberate on serving this bloodless, and puree the leeks and potatoes as in Vichyssoise, I ‘d tell you which processor you like. However, if this is to be served hot, after cooking, you might simply push the soup through a colander and make contact with it easy to pass.

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  43. I find this dish quite strange, a bit like dumpling in Chinese dishes, and then I wonder if it looks like dumplings, right? I going to try it!!!

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