Whip It Up #6: Tortellini Prosciutto And Artichoke Persillade

Since From Scratch Saturday (cooking club) was at my house this weekend, I decided to veer from this week’s theme and make our recipe, Tortellini Prosciutto And Artichoke Persillade do double duty. Recipe assumes you know the basics of pasta making. If you don’t, this is NOT the recipe to start with. Here you go…

Basic Egg Pasta (Kitchen Aid)
4 large eggs
1 T water
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place eggs, water, flour, and salt in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater. Turn to speed 2 and mix 30 seconds. Exchange beater for dough hook. Turn to Speed 2 and knead 2 minutes. Remove dough from bowl and hand knead for 1 to 2 minutes.  Let rest for 20 minutes. Divide dough into fourths before processing.

Use roller setting 6 or 7 for tortellini.  Make 2 batches.

Cheese Tortellini Filling (Alton Brown)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
4 tablespoons chopped spinach
2 egg
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Combine.

Egg Wash
1 egg mixed with 1/2 teaspoon water

Tortellini (Alton Brown)
Cut into 3 or 4- inch rounds with a round cookie cutter. Place 1/4 teaspoon filling into the center of each round. Brush egg wash on the bottom half of the round and fold over to seal. Fold back around your finger and turn down the edge to form a tortellini.

In half a gallon of rapidly boiling salted water add the tortellini in batches. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they float to the surface. Remove to a strainer to drain.

Tortellini Prosciutto And Artichoke Persillade (Janine Winters)
2 cups prosciutto, chopped into small strips
6 T olive oil
14 garlic cloves, chopped, (divided: 6 cloves, 8 cloves)
2 cans artichokes, strained
1 cup white wine
4 cups spinach, thawed and strained
2 T parsley (chopped)
2 lb tortellini (cooked)
2 cups cream
1 cup Swiss cheese, grated

In a skillet, saute 6 cloves garlic in oil until fragrant. Add prosciutto and stir 1 minute. Add wine and reduce until thickened. Add cream and simmer for a few minutes to thicken. Add remaining garlic, parsley, spinach and artichoke and heat through. Add pasta. Coat with sauce.  Add pepper. Top with swiss and melt.

Was the recipe easy to follow?

Easy to follow, but not easy to make. You have to move quickly with fresh pasta, and there is a learning curve. My small kitchen made things harder too. I was seriously feeling guilty about putting my friends through this. That said, I’ve wanted to make tortellini for years, and I’m glad we did. With pre-made tortellini, this would still be awesome and much more quick and easy.
Did the dish taste good?

It was wonderful. In my top three cooking club dishes ever, and probably in my top 10 of best things I’ve ever eaten.

Would you make it again?

Yes, but it will be some time before I’m up to homemade tortellini again. I’d totally use purchased pasta to make it again. I’d also try it with different pastas, filled and not filled.

Grr…great dish, bad pics. None of the actual tortellini folding either since I was a wee bit frustrated at that time. Sorry, folks. Trust me, it was awesome.