Cheese Tortellini in Tomato Wine Sauce

Sometimes the title for a recipe alludes to a high class restaurant kind of a dish. Take this one for example, it’s obviously Italian, which makes it good. Tortellini, which is just a ravioli wrapped around the finger when being made, is so much better than just plain ravioli. And wine, well, it makes it just so much more fancier. But, this fancy sounding dish that could be served at a high class Italian restaurant, is actually a something cheap made in less than 20 mins at the end of a really busy work day. Something born from necessity, but I have to say cheese tortellini in tomato wine sauce is delicious.

I think we’ll start with a little story, a legend, so to speak. Tortellini comes from northern Italy. It’s mentioned in a 16th century cook book. But, it’s the story of the tortellini shape that is rather interesting. In this story, Venus (yes, the God), stays at an inn. As expected, the inn keeper is quite taken by her beauty. He spies her through the key hole of the door, however all he can see is her belly button. So he fashioned a stuffed pasta pocket in that shape. May sound a little gross, and, lets not talk of the voyeurism aspect, however, tortellini is sometimes referred to as “Ombelico Di Venere”, which, translated means Venus’ belly button. I can’t make this stuff up.

Back to the recipe, and, how it came about. As with most recipes, it was borne from necessity. I was headed home from work after a long day. On my way back I was trying to figure out home cooked/take out? And, what the heck would I cook. I have to say, take out nearly won. However, I remembered that I had bought a package of tortellini on sale the other week. You know, the one in the refrigerated section. Put it in boiling water for 3 mins and it’s done. I was sold on the cooking time. All I had to do was build a recipe around it, I’m driving and thinking, I want to be ready to cook when I walk in the door.

The base of any good dish starts with aromatics. It’s called a mirepoix, except in this case it’ll be just onions and garlic. They have to be finely diced. There is a science behind this. The cook time for this recipe is very short, but, they still need to cook, so, dice them up fine. Preheat a pan over medium heat, add some olive oil, when hot, add the onions and garlic. Sauté till soft, and a little caramelized. Then, a can of diced tomatoes. I always keep a few cans in the closet. I like the chunks of tomato, gives the dish a little texture.

Now, some white wine, white wine makes the dish lighter, almost a summery feel. I usually use the same wine that I would drink, I already like the flavor that will be brought to the dish. Some chopped green olives. I always keep olives on hand, the green pitted ones from the pickle aisle, adds a little bite to the flavor. And, finally some classic Italian seasonings, basil, oregano, maybe a little ground red pepper flakes for some warmth. That is the base for the dish. When everything starts to bubble, add a handful of the tortellini. lower the heat and cover. Let it cook for about 5 mins, and that’s it.

As with everything Italian, some fresh grated parmesan as a topping. A good friend of mine explained that the difference in taste between fresh grated and the parmesan powder in the plastic container is like night and day. Trust me, you’ll never go back to the powder. So, plate your cheese tortellini in tomato wine sauce, top with some parmesan, and, enjoy dinner. thank you for reading.