Pumpkin Ricotta Filled Ziti with Sage Brown Butter

2 cups dry ziti pasta

⅔ cup ricotta cheese

⅔ cup fresh or canned pure pumpkin puree

¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 fresh sage leaves, rolled up and cut in thin strips

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons grated fontina cheese

Add water to 2-quart sauce pan ¾ full and bring to a boil over high heat. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente/tender, about 10-13 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse with cold water to cool and set aside.

Add ricotta cheese, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice together in a medium bowl and stir until well combined. Add pumpkin mixture to a resealable plastic bag, squeezing it into a corner of the bag. Snip a small hole in the corner to pipe the mixture into the ziti or use a pastry bag with a small tip. Fill each ziti with the pumpkin ricotta cheese mixture.

In a 12-inch skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Cook several minutes, until the butter starts to brown. Stir in the sage, salt and black pepper; heat another minute for the sage to become a little crispy.

Add the pasta to the brown butter and toss gently to coat and heat 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat. Add a portion of the pasta to individual serving bowls and garnish each bowl with Fontina cheese.

Serves four.

Ann Jones, Geneva, contestant in the 2014 World Food Championships