My daughter learned how to make these in a cooking class and loves making them. She makes the tortellini from scratch, but if you want a quick dinner you can buy them ready made.
Enjoy!
cheese tortellini with roasted red pepper sauce
makes 30 tortellini
Ingredients
For the tortellini
250g flour
2 eggs, room temperature
38ml olive oil
pinch of salt
25ml water
For the filling
125g ricotta cheese
25g grated parmesan cheese
30g grated mozzarella cheese
pinch of pepper
1/2 egg beaten with water, for the egg wash
For the sauce
2 red peppers
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
85ml vegetable stock
To serve: rucola, freshly grated parmesan
Method
Make the tortellini
On a clean surface (or a large bowl), make a mound with the flour. Make a well in the middle and add the eggs, salt and olive oil.
Use a fork to beat the eggs and oil and start adding flour from the mound, until the dough starts to come together.
Add some of the water (you may not need to use all), just until the dough is moist enough to form a ball. The dough should stay together, not be sticky or too dry.
Knead for 3 minutes until smooth.
Once the dough is smooth, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate it for 30 minutes, to rest.
Meanwhile make the filling: mix all ingredients except the egg wash, and set aside.
Start making your pasta: Dust your counter with flour and cut 1/2 of the pasta dough, keeping the rest wrapped in cling film so it doesn't dry out.
Flatten the dough with your hand in a rectangle, then pass it through your pasta maker on the largest setting.
Keep repeating this, slowly reducing the setting on the pasta maker until you reach the smallest one and your dough is thin and translucent.
If doing this part by hand, roll out the dough until it is very thin, but not so thin that it will break.
Once your dough is at the right thickness, take a large glass and cut out circles.
Brush half the edges of the circles closest to you with the egg wash. Add 1/4 tsp of the cheese mixture to the center of each and fold the circles. Fold the corners around your finger to meet in the middle, and stick them together using the egg wash.
Place the tortellini on a tray lined with parchment paper, and freeze for 1 hour (this is optional, but will help them not stick together and easier to handle).
Make the sauce
While the tortellini are in the freezer, heat up the oven to 200C.
Halve the peppers, removing the seeds and membrane from inside, and place the halves on a baking tray in the oven for around 20-25 minutes.
Once they are done and cooled, roughly chop the peppers.
In a pan, heat the olive oil and cook the garlic for a few seconds, to release the aroma. Add the peppers and fry for a few minutes, to combine them.
Add the vegetable stock and allow it to come to a boil. Adjust seasoning if needed.
Pour the contents of the pan into a mixer and blitz well. If you don't like the pepper skins, you can sieve the sauce before serving.
Serve the tortellini
In a pot with boiling water, cook the tortellini for around 5 minutes or until they float. Drain.
In a bowl, place the red pepper sauce on the bottom and add the tortellini. Top with some rucola and freshly grated parmesan, and voila! It is ready to eat.
Tips & cheats
Buy ready-made tortellini if you don't want to make your own. But you can make your own and freeze them, to use at a later date.
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