Three-Cheese Tortellini with Chicken and Pesto
Tortellini is a fun and rewarding pasta shape to master. Like any stuffed pasta, once you learn the technique, you will find yourself turning them out in no time. In this recipe, I fill the tortellini with a three-cheese mixture of Ricotta, Parmesan and Asiago cheeses and serve them with a simple and flavorful chicken and pesto sauce.
Forming the Tortellini Shape:
Roll the dough out with a Pasta Machine. To learn the basics of making pasta, see my post: Pasta 101 and watch my video below. Lay the dough out on a floured (semolina) work surface and use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out as many rounds as you can. Have a small bowl available with about half a cup warm water in it. Wet your index fingertip in the bowl and gently brush the outside circumference of the circle.
Place 1 teaspoon of the three-cheese filling in the center of the circle and fold the circle in half, forming a half moon shape. Work your way around the half moon, patting the edges together to work out any air pockets. With the flat side of the half moon facing you, lightly wet one corner and with both hands, bring the two corners toward you and pinch together, forming and securing the tortellini.
TOOL TIP:
A nice set of round pastry cutters is a must-have for any kitchen, whether you are making tortellini, homemade biscuits or cannoli shells. This 12-piece round graduated cutter set, is made from stainless steel and ranges in size from 1-inch to 4.4-inches.
Pesto:
There is nothing like homemade pesto. Every fall, just before the last frost, I harvest all of the basil from my herb garden and make a large batch of pesto. Traditionally pesto is made with basil and pine nuts, however, a few alterations will offer you some unique results. Try cilantro in place of the basil and/or cashews in place of the pine nuts. Experiment with different herbs and nuts. Pesto freezes well for up to 6 months. Freeze in ice cube trays and transfer the frozen cubes to ziplock freezer bags.
Watch my video on making Pasta Dough:
Three-Cheese Tortellini with Chicken and Pesto
Course: PastaCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium6
servings1
hour20
minutesIngredients
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
Kosher salt and white pepper to taste
- Pesto
2 large bunches fresh basil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Chicken and Sauce
2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, sliced
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chicken stock
pine nuts and freshly grated Parmesan cheese to finish
Directions
- Mix all the filling ingredients together until well combined.
- Roll the pasta dough out as detailed in my Pasta 101 post.
- Lay the dough out on a floured (semolina) work surface and use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out as many rounds as you can. Have a small bowl available with about half a cup warm water in it. Wet your index fingertip in the bowl and gently brush the outside circumference of the circle.
- Place 1 teaspoon of the three-cheese filling in the center of the circle and fold the circle in half, forming a half moon shape. Work your way around the half moon, patting the edges together to work out any air pockets. With the flat side of the half moon facing you, lightly wet one corner and with both hands, bring the two corners toward you and pinch together, forming and securing the tortellini.
- Place the tortellini in a single layer on a baking sheet dusted with semolina while you finish with the remaining circles.
- Pesto
- Place all the Pesto ingredients in a food processor and blend until almost smooth. Season the Pesto with salt and pepper.
- Chicken and Sauce
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Sauté the chicken in a hot sauté pan with the olive oil. Cook over medium heat, turning it occasionally, until cooked through and golden browned, about 2 minutes, depending upon thickness of breast.
- Add chicken stock and Pesto to the pan and reduce the heat to low.
- Working in batches, cook the tortellini in a pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 4 minutes if fresh, or 7 minutes if frozen. Drain well. Add the tortellini to the pan with the Pesto and toss to coat. Transfer to plates, drizzling any remaining sauce from the pan over the tortellini.
- Sprinkle with pine nuts and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
