Tortellini Funghi Pomodoro

And my love for pasta grows further. My Mum suggested I go to Northern Italy and work in a tiny ristorante, oh and maybe work with an architect as well.

When I am bored and more bored than lazy, I usually end up cooking. This time, greatly influenced by the delicate intricate cooking I've been watching on Masterchef, I decided to take pasta-making one step further and try ravioli and tortellini.

Funghi- mushrooms. It's funny how most people associate fungus with something disgusting. I made the filling for the pasta with fungus. 

Take about 2 cups of finely chopped mushrooms. Add them to a pan of hot olive oil and 4 cloves of grated garlic. Stir together. Add 1 tsp of salt, 1tsp of dried sage, 1/4 tsp of pepper and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Once all the water has come out of the mushrooms and evaporated. Add about 50ml of thick cream. This will combine all the ingredients together to form a nice creamy, slightly sticky filling.

To make the pasta- pretty simple. 2 cups of flour + 3 eggs and a pinch of salt. This time, instead of mixing it out on the counter like I did for the Mushroom Lasagne, I did it in a bowl. Far less mess. If the dough is sticky, dust more flour on the surface while kneading. If you don't have a pasta maker, it will take time rolling it out into thin sheets. I don't think I would have taken the effort to do that. Wrap in clingfilm and rest the dough for a while before rolling. Roll them out into quite thin sheets, because when you make the ravioli/tortellini it becomes a double layer.


Note: Keep dusting it lightly with flour. If it's not dry enough, it would roll out easily. Also, keep the dough in the clingfilm so it doesn't dry out.

Then the fun part. Well it would have been fun if it was just for one person, but I had to make enough for 4, and my family doesn't eat gourmet portions. sigh. So yes, this will take time.

I used a cookie cutter to cut out the circles. Place about 1/2 tsp of filling in them.

To make ravioli- place another circle on top and press down the edges to form a nice pillow.

To make the tortellini- fold the circle into a half moon shape(like a momo). Then bring the two corners together.

NOTE: Make sure the edges are properly sealed, otherwise the filling will come out when you boil them.

Then it's time to boil. Put them into boiling water that has about a tbsp of oil in it. Boil for about 6 minutes. I actually didn't time it, but test one to make sure it's properly cooked.

By the time my parents came home, I had made about 10 ravoilis, so they had to eat gourmet portions. I suggest making the sauce before hand, so people can start eating if the pasta is taking ages to make.

Pomodoro- tomatoes. Puree 6 tomatoes with 3 cloves of garlic in a blender. In a saucepan, add 1 finely chopped onion to 3 tbsps of hot olive oil. Then add salt, pepper, oregano, olive brine, 1tbsp of sun-dried tomato paste. When it's all nicely fried, add the tomato puree and bring to a boil. Then keep on low flame for about 15-20 minutes. Once cooked and slightly cooled, add 100ml of cream. 

Serve with a generous grating of Parmesan cheese and some chopped up fresh basil. 

Buon appetito!

Note: The pasta here doesn't look as yellow as it does on T.V or in recipe books. Must be the eggs.

Apologies for not having better pictures of the final thing- everyone was too hungry and wouldn't let me take pictures.

I shared this post on another blog. Exciting- 33 Shades of Green