Home

Tuesday Recipe: Cheesy Baked Tortellini

 Print E-mail
Written by April Yorke   
Tuesday, 07 July 2009 00:00

Cheesy Baked TortelliniI have a friend over for dinner about once a week. Though we always have a great time, there are two issues with that: 1) we have oft-divergent tastes, and 2) cooking can sometimes seem like a chore. Every once in a while, I look for a simple, pleasing recipe that I can put together quickly. Though Giada De Laurentiis' recipes don't always meet those parameters, she does occasionally use cheats and shortcuts (recently I watched her toast frozen pound cake). This recipe, which uses store-bought fresh tortellini, is one such instance.

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 2 cups marinara sauce
  • 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 pound purchased cheese tortellini
  • 2 ounces thinly sliced smoked mozzarella
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish.

Whisk the sauce, mascarpone cheese, parsley and thyme in a large bowl to blend. Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat. Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top the mixture with the smoked mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses on top melt, about 30 minutes.

 Recipe notes:

  • Don't worry about getting marinara sauce. Just buy whatever pasta sauce sounds good to you. 
  • Italian parsley and thyme are among the herbs I grow on my window ledge.  I have no green thumb to speak of, but fresh herbs are a handy thing to have.
  • No matter how small a container of mascarpone I buy, I always seem to have some left over. You'll have to find a recipe to use it up before it goes bad.
  • My mozzarella was not smoked.
Comments (0)Add Comment
feedSubscribe to this comment's feed
Write comment
 
 
smaller | bigger
 

security image
Write the displayed characters

busy
Last Updated on Friday, 20 November 2009 01:49
 

April Yorke is a (Cult)ure Magazine contributor since Wednesday, 07 January 2009.

Other articles by this writer

© 2009 - 2013 Culture Magazine. Design by Web Design Ottawa