Tortelloni are like ravioli that have been twisted into a belly button shape. They are the large version of tortellini, which are generally about the size of a thumbnail.

Red Claw Crayfish are a freshwater crayfish native to North Queensland and the Northern Territory, but are farmed throughout a lot of tropical and sub tropical Australia. If you can’t get hold of red claws, uncooked prawn or crab meat would work just as well for the crayfish tortelloni.

I’ve roasted the cauliflower for this puree, which gives it a beautiful nutty flavour. I’ve also used the my favourite capers from Bunya Red Farm in the South Burnett. You can buy them online if you want to give them a try. They also grow and process beautiful caperberries. www.bunyaredfarm.com.au

Serves 4

Ingredients:

250gm uncooked red claw crayfish meat

200gm flour

2 eggs

300gm cauliflower, broken into florets

1 tbs olive oil

2tbs cream

75gm butter

1 tbs baby capers

30ml lemon juice

1 tbs flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 cup kale leaves

½ cup vegetable oil for frying

salt and pepper

Method:

Make pasta dough by combining the flour and eggs and kneading until you have a smooth, elastic dough.

Wrap and allow to rest for half an hour.

In a tray, sprinkle the cauliflower with olive oil, season and cover with foil.

Bake at 190ºC for 30 minutes. The cauliflower should be soft and have a little bit of colour.

Process to a smooth puree with the cream and season well with salt and white pepper.

Roll the pasta dough through a pasta machine to the thinnest setting.

Cut out 16 x 8cm circles and place a small tablespoon of red claw meat on each.

Brush the back half of the circle with a small amount of egg wash and fold over to form semi circles. Put a little dab of egg wash on one corner and pull the two corners together, giving them a good pinch, to form the tortelloni into a circle.

Heat the vegetable oil to 180ºC and fry the kale leaves until crispy. (Stand back, they tend to spit)

When it’s time to serve, drop the tortelloni into a large pot of salted water and cook for 2 -3 minutes.

While they are cooking, heat the butter in a pan until it starts to foam and brown slightly. Remove from the heat and add the capers, lemon juice and parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Using a slotted spoon, scoop the tortelloni into the sauce and toss to coat.

Serve on the warm puree with the caper sauce poured over and garnished with the crispy kale.