Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Quick Five Cheese Whole Wheat Tortellini with Spinach, Mushrooms & Sun Dried Olives

Quick Five Cheese Whole Wheat Tortellini with Spinach, Mushrooms & Sun Dried Olives

Prep Time: 5 minutes (plus time to boil water)
CookTime: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
600 g/1lb fresh whole wheat tortellini (or other fresh stuffed pasta)
Sauce:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 large leek, cut in half length-wise, rinsed, dried and sliced thin across
1 cup, sliced cremini mushrooms
1 tin (22oz/650ml) tomato sauce (I tried one with roasted garlic)
1tsp dried basil leaves
½ tsp red chili pepper flakes
Pinch of sugar (I always find canned tomato sauces too acidic)
½ cup wine (I only had white on hand, but either works well)
1 bag (10oz/284g) baby spinach, wilted in microwave and then chopped
½ cup sun-dried black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
Asiago cheese, grated to serve

Directions:
1. Boil water in a large Dutch oven. The tortellini actually only take 5 minutes to cook, so wait until the sauce is tasty before adding tortellini to the pot.

2. In another large saucepan, over medium high heat, sauté the leeks in a little olive oil. You want them soft, not browned, so watch the heat. Once the leeks are translucent (3-5 minutes), add the mushrooms and sauté until browned. You might need a little more oil, but don’t get carried away, the mushrooms will absorb whatever you give them.

3. Add the tomato sauce, chili pepper flakes, dried basil, sugar and cook for 5 minutes. Add the wine and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. You want to burn off the alcohol, but still taste the wine.

4. Add the spinach and olives to the sauce. Stir to blend. At the same time, add the tortellini to the salted boiling water and cook according to package…not more than 5 minutes.

5. Drain the tortellini and place in a large serving bowl. Top with some sauce and toss well. Sprinkle with some coarsely grated Asiago (because you can never have enough cheese) and serve.

I serve this with a simple salad. Delicioso!

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