Spinach White Bean Tortellini

1 recipe tortellini dough

1 lb fresh baby spinach
3 cloves garlic
1 15 oz can white beans, or 2 cups cooked white beans, like navy or canellini
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup nooch
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon olive oil

3 tablespoons garlic creme sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

In a large saute pan, add 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and heat on medium. In handfuls, add the spinach, turning with tongs to wilt. After about 3 minutes, add white wine. Turn the spinach with tongs until all the leaves are wilted.
In a food processor, chop garlic. Now drain and rinse the beans and add them to the food processor. Blend until relatively smooth and add spinach. Puree until a loose mixture comes together. Add nooch, salt and pepper, and taste for seasonings.
Form tortellini.
Boil tortellini for 4-5 minutes, until all tortellini have risen to the top and slightly puffed.
Spoon the sauce onto the bottom of your dish. Arrange tortellini on the top of your sauce. Drizzle the teaspoon of olive oil over the top and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

I didn't get a great shot of the insides, so you can use your imagination to see what a pretty pinkish but also orange but also red filling is residing inside each one of these little pouches. Since I used tofu as my creamy base, a zigzag shower of garlic cashew cream was in order. I devoured this bowl right quick. And then another. And it was worth it.

Sundried Tomato Tortellini

1 recipe tortellini dough

1/3 package firm or extra firm tofu
6-7 sundried tomatoes, packed in oil or water
1 large shallot, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons nooch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup veggie broth

Chop shallot and garlic in a food processor. Now add tomatoes and pulse until well chopped. Add the tofu and puree until smooth. Scrape down sides and add nooch, salt and pepper. Spin again and slowly add veggie broth, one tablespoon at a time, until a very creamy texture is achieved. Taste for flavors.
Stuff filling into tortellini wrappers and boil about 4 minutes or until all tortellini have floated to the top and puffed slightly. Serve with tomato sauce, garlic cashew creme, or olive oil and veggies!

I must admit, after all the creamy tortellini I've been eating this week, a just-veggie-filled one tasted nice and refreshing. It's a wholesome bite, not in a "oh-my-god-this-is-better-than-cheese" kind of way. Just a "mmm" kind of way. It's nice sometimes when you eat something really simple, like sauteed veggies and mashed potatoes or something, and there's no seitan, tempeh, or tofu. No stand-in for the meat. Because really, you don't always need a meat. But we all know that already :)
So for the times when only veggies and veggies alone will do, here's how to make that happen.

1 recipe tortellini dough

1 zucchini, sliced into half-moons
1 yellow zucchini, sliced into half-moons
1 red bell pepper, cut into large chunks
1 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
6-7 cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered
1 jalapeño pepper, sliced, seeded if you don't do heat
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Sautee veggies in a large skillet with a little olive oil until tender. Season with salt and pepper and add dry herbs. Transfer to a food processor or blend with a handheld blender and make veggie mush. You don't any large pieces that will poke through a tortellini.
Transfer to a bowl and start stuffing your tortellini!
Boil each tortellini for about 4 minutes, until all have risen to the top and slightly puffed. Serve with tomato sauce.

Alex says it looks like a sushi platter. I kind of agree. This could be fun to eat with chopsticks.

6. Put a dollop of your filling in the middle of the tortellini.


7. Fold the top end over the bottom end so that you have a triangle encasing your filling. Press down tight, you don't want any filling popping out while boiling.




9. Now turn the two sides away from the point and press them together on the other side.

Remember that time I said to my mom, "Wouldn't it be fun to make your own tortellini?" And then she took me to the ER because she thought my brains had finally turned into cashews. They said "There's too much caffeine in your bloodstream, and a lack of real spice in your life." And since my mom doesn't listen to The Smiths she didn't get it and told me the doctor wanted me to switch to tea, but also make my own tortellini.

Now I don't know how serious you all are about pasta... but I'm pretty serious. Sometimes I pretend I'm Strega Nona and I'm back in Calabria where there's no Stop & Shop a minute and a half down the road, and I make my own pasta. It takes a little practice to get it just right. At first you just curse a lot, and then you get it out of your system and all of a sudden fresh pasta is before you. Alex wouldn't help me roll up the tortellini so I made him take some action shots so I could put them up for you guys. Plus I really wanted you to see my cool nails.





These tasted great. If you really want to make these, I recommend rolling out only as much dough as you can work with at one time, filling and folding, then rolling out more. I rolled it all out, let it dry out, then towards my 20th tortellini the pasta was getting too crumbly to fold up and the filling was busting out and it was sad. So don't end up like me. Roll out 1 at a time or employ a friend. My suggested tender is tortellini.