RECIPE: Tortelloni with pesto, tomatoes, mushrooms, and olives

[Sharon Perl]

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.RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE TORTELLONI-1 MV "18 Jul 88" 1989
.RZ "TORTELLONI WITH PESTO" "Tortelloni with pesto, tomatoes, mushrooms, and olives"
This is a very tasty and easy way to prepare store-bought tortelloni, and is
the type of vegetarian main dish that will draw compliments rather than
complaints from meat-eaters. It is inspired by a dish that I enjoyed in a
recently-defunct Harvard Square natural foods restaurant named Latacarta.
.IH "Serves 4"
.SH ASSEMBLY
.IG "\(12 lb" "cheese tortelloni, made with egg pasta dough" "250 g"
(see Note)
.IG "\(12 lb" "cheese tortelloni, made with spinach pasta dough" "250 g"
(see Note)
.IG "\(14 cup" "pine nuts" "30 g"
(or more to taste)
.IG "1 Tbsp" "olive oil" "15 ml"
.IG "10\-15" "medium mushrooms,"
quartered
.IG "10\-15" "cherry tomatoes,"
halved (or quartered if large)
.IG "10\-15" "black olives,"
pitted and quartered (Calamata or Gaeta work well)
.IG "\(12 cup" "Romano cheese," "100 g"
grated (not packed)
.IG "" "Pesto sauce,"
prepared without cheese (recipe below)
.SH PESTO SAUCE (without cheese)
.IG "3 cups" "basil leaves," "100 g"
packed
.IG "3\-4" "cloves garlic"
.IG "\(14 cup" "pine nuts" "30 g"
.IG "\(12 cup" "olive oil" "100 ml"
.PH "(ASSEMBLY)"
.SK 1
Prepare the pesto sauce if you don't have any on hand. This can
be done far in advance; pesto freezes well. The remainder of the
preparation should be done shortly before you want to eat.
.SK 2
Cook the tortelloni in a large pot in plenty of boiling water until
done,
.I "al dente" "."
.SK 3
While the tortelloni are cooking, toast the pine nuts over low
heat in a dry skillet until lightly browned. Be careful not to burn
them. Remove from the skillet.
.SK 4
In the skillet, saut\z\(aae the mushrooms in about
.AB "1 Tbsp" "15 ml"
of olive oil over medium heat until they begin to release their juices.
.SK 5
Turn the heat way down, add the tomatoes and olives to the mushrooms
and toss gently. The goal is to warm the tomatoes and olives without
really cooking them.
.SK 6
When the tortelloni are done, drain them and return them to the
pot. Add the tomato-mushroom-olive mixture to the tortelloni. Add
the pesto and toss well. Finally, add the pine nuts and sprinkle in
romano cheese to taste and toss again. Serve in a large heated bowl
accompanied by a green salad and good Italian or French bread
(preferably, whole grain). Pass extra grated cheese for sprinkling
on top of the pasta. A hearty red wine (one that will hold up to
the pesto) is a good accompaniment.
.PH "(PESTO)"
.SK 1
Wash and dry the basil leaves well.
.SK 2
In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the basil
leaves, garlic, and pine nuts. Process until everything is
in very fine pieces, scraping the sides as necessary.
.SK 3
With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil and process until
smooth.
.SK 4
The pesto may be used immediately, or stored in a tightly sealed
container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, or in the freezer
for several months.
.NX
Good cheese tortelloni can usually be purchased in Italian markets
or in better supermarkets. The dish looks nicest with a mixture of
egg and spinach pasta but could be made with all egg or all spinach
if a mixture is not available.
.PP
The proportions in this recipe are all approximate. The idea is to
use enough mushrooms, tomatoes, and olives to nicely balance the
tortelloni without drowning it. Use enough pesto to coat all the
vegetables and pasta well.
.PP
I like to serve a salad alongside or after the pasta. One salad that
is particularly refreshing contains mild and bitter greens (Boston
and red leaf lettuces, radiccio, arugula, etc.), sectioned oranges,
cucumber, radish slices, and fresh diced fennel (if in season) or
diced celery. Dress with a raspberry vinaigrette made with some of
the juice from the oranges, raspberry vinegar, and extra-virgin olive
oil.
.PP
Alternate serving suggestion: Rather than serving the tortelloni all
mixed up in one bowl, you can serve it arranged on individual plates.
Pile the tortelloni on heated plates. Scatter mushrooms, tomatoes,
and olives on top. Spoon a good portion of pesto in the center. Sprinkle
with pine nuts and cheese. This is the way they served it in the
restaurant. It is perhaps more elegant, but the serving bowl method
allows people to determine their own portion sizes (and to return for seconds).
.PP
You can use any standard recipe for pesto sauce, leaving out the grated
cheese that is normally called for. I have tried using pesto sauce
made with cheese in this recipe and have found that the dish ends
up tasting too dry and salty. If you happen to have pesto sauce with cheese
already made, thin it out with some olive oil and/or hot water and be
conservative in adding the romano cheese called for in the recipe.
If you would like to use the above recipe for pesto sauce on other
types of pasta, add
.AB "\(34 cup" "150 g"
grated parmesan cheese when processing.
.SH RATING
.I Difficulty:
easy to moderate.
.I Time:
20\-30 minutes preparation and assembly, 5\-10 minutes to prepare the pesto.
.I Precision:
Approximate measurement OK.
.WR
Sharon E. Perl
M.I.T. Laboratory for Computer Science, Cambridge, Massachusetts
sha...@lcs.mit.edu