Tortellini Glossary | Recipes with Tortellini

Also Known as
Ring Shaped Pasta

Description
Tortellini offers great mouth feel and flavor from its stuffing, but it also delivers a satisfying amount of pasta with each bite. This "little twist" is a circle of pasta folded in half over filling, then twisted into a ring. Tortellini gives a pasta menu that magic combination of Italian authenticity and diner recognition. The trick is figuring out whether to make tortellini in-house, bring in fresh product or source frozen Tortellini is a variety of ring-shaped pasta. They are typically stuffed with Parmesan cheese and occasionally with a mix of vegetables. They are usually served in broth, with cream.

How to Select
A good tortellini is tender and light, not thick and doughy. Purchase Tortellini as per the recipe demands. Choose even round shaped, that are translucent, creamy yellow color without any tint of gray. When held up to the light it should appear translucent, without signs of any air bubbles or dark specs. The dark specs should only appear if it due to the type of flavoring agent used.

Boiled tortellini

Boil plenty of water in a large pan with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of oil. Add the tortellini to the boiling water by adding a few at a time. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally and gently until the pasta is tender. Cooking times may vary with the size and the thickness of the pasta. Immediately drain the cooked pasta into a sieve or a colander. Transfer to a bowl of cold water to refresh it. Drain again and keep aside.If the pasta is not to be used immediately, add 1 tbsp of oil to it and toss it.

Reading the food label or package will supply you with information to help you make a selection on which pasta to purchase. It also includes nutritional information. Whether the pasta you are purchasing is fresh or dried, the food label will indicate the type of flour used to produce the pasta and what flavoring agents have been used, if any. When selecting dried pasta, check the package to be sure semolina flour has been used to ensure good quality pasta.

Culinary Uses
" Fast, easy, and filling. This soup is always a crowd pleaser.
" Nice fast meal to fix for dinner. Absolutely delicious! Cheese filled tortellini in a creamy parmesan sauce with and peas.
" There are a lot of delicious looking tortellini salad recipes.
" The tortellini's stuffing, as well as its accompanying sauce, is limited only by imagination, but favorites seem to include both the Italian tradition of meats and the American love of cheese.
" Whatever its origin or inspiration, operators are menuing tortellini with great success.
" Tortellini - it's familiar and is satisfying.
" The tri-color tortellini is stuffed with ricotta cheese and served with sautéed mushrooms and asparagus in sauce.
" Tortellini in soup traditionally served at Italian holidays, features a broth made with carrots and scallions. It's finished with chopped fresh parsley and dusted with Parmesan. The tortellini is dropped in before service, and the soup is ready when the pasta plumps.

How to Store
Store it, unopened, in a cool, dry cupboard for six to eight months or as per the expiry date. Dried, fresh, and cooked pasta need to be stored in different ways. Fresh pasta will keep for 1-2 days in the refrigerator and can also be frozen. Stuffed pasta or fresh pasta made with eggs will keep for 1 day in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer. Cooked pasta will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge or freezer. When refrigerating or freezing cooked pasta, be sure it is stored in a well sealed container so that it does not absorb any odors.

Health Benefits
" These are joyous little bites of flavor, are a favorite meal even for the most finicky of kids and adults alike.
" Tortellini is a good source of fiber and complex carbohydrates that provide our bodies with vitamins, minerals and energy.

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