easy four cheese tortellini
as with everything i post, amounts are up to you.
filling:
-ricotta cheese (cottage cheese works well too)
-parmesan cheese
-mozarella cheese
-prosiutto cheese
-1 egg
-bread crumbs (i used the kind from the store)
-parsley
-rosemary
-FRESH roasted garlic (or not, whatever)
drain the ricotta/cottage cheese if it seems necessary and grate your other cheeses. mix everything up until you can spoon some out and it keeps together.
*for the pasta, i used nasoya wonton wraps; it's the same thing.
place some filling in the middle of a wrap and fold it in half diagonally; adhere with egg. then bring two corners together and stick them together until it's sort of shaped like a pope hat full of cheese. allow the pasta to sit in the fridge for about fifteen or twenty minutes under a towel.
sauce:
-fresh roma tomatoes, peeled. i cut mine in half and threw them in the sauce.
*canned tomaoes work just as well.
-tomato sauce
-tomato paste
-ground beef (or chicken, or pork, or sausage - whatever)
-fresh garlic
-basil
-a little of majoram, not ground
-a tiny, minscule bit of sage if you like that
-a little red wine. i think tawny reserve port works the best and gives it a nice nutty taste, but it's ultimately up to you.\
-a splash of red wine vinegar
-a pinch of sugar. i used raw sugar, but i'm sure refined would work just as well.
-a little olive oil (extra virgin of course)
brown your meat (cook you chicken), and add the tomato sauce, a little paste, oil, tomatoes, and spices to taste. after simmering for a little while, add your wine and sugar. adding the wine after simmering for a while preserves the nice grapey taste from the wine, and ultimately makes the whole dish. reduce heat to low and leave it alone for a while.
now, boil some water. add your tortellini a few at a time and allow to boil for about ten minutes per group. as you finish a group, put them in the sauce. repeat process over and over again.
bring your sauce and pastas up to medium heat and cover; allow it to simmer for a while.
enjoy!