Small ring, Big ring: Tortellini,Tortelloni

Made by Raffaella with the contribution of Megan, Melanie and Za.

Originated from Italy, this ring-shaped pasta is absolutely delectable and savory. It is usually served with sauce or in a broth. 

*drooling* 

Tortelloni are bigger and generally stuffed with veggies. 

Parmesan cheese and Mortadella 

The filling: 
A portion of Turkey bacon! and another of Mortadella (this brilliant idea was the brainchild of Raffaella's long mulling over. Another option was cheese and spinach.) 

So, here's the deal: 

Stir fry the shredded turkey bacon and chopped mortadella together for a minute or two.

In a blender or a food processor put the mixture. Add 2 table spoons of Mascarpone cheese or any creamy cheese you like, and blend. Add the diced Parmesan, blend more, till you get this gorgeous burnt-pink-coloured paste (gloop lol) 

If it's too runny, add a bit of bread crumbs, till it gets slightly thicker. (see picture) 

Tortellini filling

The pasta 

Now, in order to get this beautifully shaped tortellini,

Make sure to follow these steps in the order indicated bellow: 

On your working counter, put 400g of flour and make a hole in the centre for 4 eggs and a pinch of salt. 

Incorporate the ingredients to create a non-sticky dough. 

Knead it as much as you can to soften it. If it's too hard and dry add few drops of milk/water 

On a surface dusted with flour, roll the dough flat after letting it rest for a few minutes. ( 10-15) 

Make squares 

Click here to see a video from youtube for ideas on how to fold and wrap your pasta :) 

Melanie engrossed in ring-shaping the pasta

You can also play with making round shaped Tortellini :-D 

Knock yourself out! make as many as you want. 

Then, chuck the first batch in -slightly salted- boiled water (adding a tbsp of oil helps the pasta not stick) 

The tortellini you get at the shop cook quiet rapidly, once you toss them in boiling water, allow them 2 to 3 minutes and you'll see them floating to the surface. That means they're ready. 

However, we let ours cook a bit longer (5 to 7 mins) as the dough was homemade and not thin enough. We used a roller pin to roll the dough 0.5mm thick, but it would have been a whole lot easier and way much better to use a pasta roller (click) ... (which we didn't have hehe :-p )

The pasta was super yummy with white Alfredo sauce

Bsahetkom - Enjoy- Bon appetit