Home Made Cheese Filled Tortellini Tortelli di Erbette

So many pictures and so little time...lost between the dance recital and the bridge construction I finally unearthed these tortellini's.  My youngest helped out and became a pasta master and eater.

 step one: make the pasta dough - best way in your food processor

 step two: divide the dough into four equal parts

 step three: flatten dough and roll on #1 in pasta maker

 step four: fold rolled dough and repeat steps three and four about four times

step five: roll dough on numbers 2 through 5 one time each 

cover dough with damp dish towel until ready to cut

 step six: sprinkle dough with flour

 step seven: dip cutter into flour and cut

 step eight: make filling

 step nine: plop in filling (I always tend to over fill)

 step ten: fold over and press to seal

 step eleven: fold around finger and pull down top like a cape

 

Tortelli di Erbette

Pasta Filled with Ricotta and Swiss Chard

from Carol Field

Celebrating Italy

Pasta

2 1/2 cups (350 grams) unbleached all purpose flour

pinch of salt

4 large eggs

a little cold water

~ set the four and salt in the bowl with the steel blade and pulse several times

~ with the motor running pour the eggs down the feed tube

~ mix only until the dough has come together loosely around the blade

~ if the dough is too stiff, add a little cold water

~ remove and kneed on a lightly floured surface

~ gather dough in a ball and cover with plastic wrap and let rest 15-30 minutes

Filling

2 bunches of swiss chard

3/4 pound fresh whole milk ricotta (whirled in a food processor)

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1 egg

large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

~ trim chard removing thick stems and wash leaves very well

~ put the chard leaves in pot using only the water that remains on the leaves

~ cook until tender 5-9 minutes

~ drain and squeeze out

~ chop fine

~ mix the chard, ricotta, parmesan, butter, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper

~ cool before use

~ can be refrigerated 4 to 8 hours

Making the tortellini

~ roll out the pasta

~ using a pasta machine

~ take a piece of dough about the size of an egg and roll up through the first setting

~ follow directions above in pictures

~ cook tortellini in a large pot of boiling water add 1T salt to water

~ cook 3-5 minutes

from our garden -  Swiss Chard

Penne with Roasted Marsala Mushrooms

Air, water and pasta substance for life...for my kids at least.  Another harried night.  No time to shop.  Empty refrigerator and hungry brood.  What to do!  I peered at my hundreds of cookbooks and grabbed Food & Wine Magazine's Quick from Scratch Pasta Cookbook.  FYI  Food & Wine magazine has fabulous recipes.  I highly recommend visiting their web site Food & Wine.

This recipe was a huge hit.  They fought over the bits left in the pot.  Next time I need to double the recipe.

 

Penne with Roasted Marsala Mushrooms

from Food & Wine Magazine

Quick from Scratch Pasta Cookbook

adapted

1 pound crimini mushrooms cut in quarters
2T safflower oil
1/2t salt
1/2t freshly ground pepper
2 garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup dry Marsala
1/2 cup organic chicken stock
1T tomato paste
1T butter
1 lb penne
1/8 cup chopped parsley

~ heat oven 400 (I used toaster oven)
~ in medium size rectangular Pyrex toss mushrooms with oil and 1/4t each salt and pepper
~ roast for 10-15 minutes, some liquid will remain in pan
~ while mushrooms roast make your pasta ( do not add pinch of salt to the water until the water is boiling)
~ drain and reserve 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water
~ once mushrooms are done transfer to stove top skillet
~ stir in garlic and Marsala
~ simmer until the liquid is almost evaporated about 4 minutes
~ add broth, reserve pasta water, and tomato paste
~ simmer until a bit more than 1/4 cup of liquid remains about 2 minutes
~ add remaining salt, pepper and butter
~ remove from heat
~ toss into pasta
~ toss in parsley

Pasta with Acorn Squash and Roasted Garlic

"We want pasta for dinner", sing the three every night.  "Really you want pasta?  Perfect because I just found a recipe that you will really love" I reply as I slice the acorn squash in half.  "What's that?"  "Squash" "ooh, yeech, I said pasta just plain pasta.  I hate it when you add stuff!"  "oh well"...Dinner is served and after a lot feeble attempts to separate pasta from squash they give in and ask for seconds.

Pasta with Acorn Squash and Roasted Garlic

from Vegetarina Planet

Didi Emmons

adapted

1 acorn squash
2T olive oil
garlic bulb
1lb pasta
1/3 cup white wine
1/2t salt
fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 chopped walnuts

~ preheat oven 375 (I used my small toaster oven)
~ cut acorn squash and remove seeds and place on baking sheet cut side down
~ bake with oiled garlic bulb 45 to 60 minutes or until flesh is soft
~ let squash cool and scoop out flesh from shell and chop finely
~ cook pasta and reserve 3/4 cup of pasta water
~ heat cast iron skillet
~ toast walnuts, remove and cool
~ add 1T oil and squeeze a few of the garlic cloves into the skillet
~ add wine and reserved pasta water and bring to a boil and let boil 2 minutes
~ add chopped squash and let boil 3 more minutes
~ add pasta and stir well
~ add salt, pepper and cheese and toss
~ plate and sprinkle walnuts and additional cheese