Tortellini are tricky because of their small size, but you can make them bigger if you like (and call them tortellini) or make ravioli, which are easier still. Serve in a flavorful broth or with Fast Tomato sauce, the sauces from Spaghetti with Butter and Parmesan, or any tomato sauce.
Ingredients Required:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground meat, preferably a mixture of beef, veal and pork or pork sausage
- 1 cup red wine or beef or chicken stock,
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 cup chopped prosciutto or other ham (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- Bread crumbs, preferably fresh, if needed
- Cornmeal or all-purpose flour for dusting
- 1 recipe Fresh Egg Pasta or Eggless Pasta, rolled into sheets and kept moist under a towel or plastic wrap
Procedure:
- Put the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium temperature. When hot, add the meat and cook. Stir and smash up any lumps, until it loses its color, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and then turn the heat down to very low. Cook while stirring occasionally and keep adding liquid if necessary, until the meat is warm and the sauce thickened (about 45 minutes).
- Add the garlic and the ham if you’re using it and cook for another 5 minutes. Cool thoroughly, and then stir in the parsley, Parmesan and egg. If the mixture still has more liquid content, stir in some bread crumbs. (At this point, you may refrigerate the filling, covered, for up to a day.) Lightly dust the work surface with some cornmeal or flour. Cut any length of fresh pasta dough so that it is 4 or 5 inches wide. Cut into 2- to 21/2-inch squares.
- Brush the breads evenly with water so it will stick together when you shape the tortellini. Put a rounded teaspoon of stuffing on each square and fold into a triangle, pressing tightly to seal the edges. Crinkle the widest end toward the filling, then take the triangle and compress the two base points together.
- Put your finger inside the newly formed ring and fold over the top of the dough inside the circle. Press to seal. Keep the tortellini separate on cornmeal- or flour-dusted cookie sheets until you’re ready to cook. (At this point, you may dust the tortellini with flour and refrigerate for up to a day or freeze for up to 3 months.)
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it. Cook the tortellini, 30 or so at a time, for just a few minutes, until they rise to the surface. Drain, sauce and serve immediately.
Tips:
- Cheese Tortellini. Omit the olive oil, ground meat, wine, garlic and ham. Skip Steps 1 and 2. Instead, combine 1 pound ricotta cheese with the parsley, Parmesan, egg and add a pinch of nutmeg; shower with a little salt and pepper. Use this mixture to fill the tortellini. Proceed with the recipe.
- Seafood Tortellini. Substitute filleted and skinned white fish, like flounder or cod, peeled and cleaned shrimp, or lobster or crabmeat, for the ground meat. Omit the wine or stock, garlic, prosciutto and Parmesan. Cook the seafood by steaming, poaching or boiling, or sautéing. Add 3 tablespoons minced shallot or onion.
- Chop or flake the seafood and mix it with the shallot, parsley, egg, a sprinkling of salt and a pinch of cayenne instead of black pepper. Add bread crumbs only if absolutely necessary. Carry on with the recipe from Step 3.
Related Content: