Mushroom Tortellini With Lemon Cream Sauce

The idea of buying one more machine for my little kitchen always kept preventing me from trying my hands on rolling my own fresh pasta. And I had been seriously wanting to try this out, but I was not yet ready to own a pasta rolling machine. Neither I was in a mood to clutter up the little left space. So I went on and thought of dirtying my hands with a rolling pin itself. Although, I always had this doubt in my mind what if the pasta rolled would be excessively thick and gluggy. What if, it didn’t rise to the top shining happily in the boiling water. So these apprehensions of the like just kept on piling on over the years, until that day, when the freshly rolled pasta bug bit me again. And this time, it bit me so badly, that the idea stuck in my head for a couple of days. And then on one fine weekend, I decided to give it a try. It really was a moment of truth when I saw myself actually rolling fresh pasta. Thanks to all the wonderful resources like TheKitchn and other random threads which I googled through, I could let go my fear so easily. And yes, pasta can be rolled without a pasta machine as well. Although, I admit, it definitely needs multiple rounds of practice to get that finesse and thinness, you’d probably get with a machine. But this isn’t bad either for a start. The secret to rolling your pasta with a rolling pin lies in the dough you have kneaded. It should be amazingly smooth and pliable that it would lend itself to the rolling pin so magically. That doesn’t really mean that you’ve got to knead your dough endlessly. But it definitely needs a good resting time at room temperature. Now when it comes to rolling, you should be rolling it as thin as possible, using the flour judiciously (i.e. right when you believe it’s going to stick to the work surface). And finally you should be able to see through your fingers, when raised gently in both your hands. That is it! Now you are ready to fill it with what ever you want or cut into shapes like pappardelle, ravioli or tortellini.  You just need to act swiftly, without giving time to the rolled pasta to dry up in the air. It might sound or look very daunting, but trust me it is not. Just give it a try and you’d be extremely happy to do so. 

Mushroom Tortellini With Lemon Cream Sauce

2015-05-25 08:42:23

Mushroom Tortellini With Lemon Cream Sauce, handmade pasta

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For the dough

1. 1 cup all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2. 1 egg
3. 1 tbsp olive oil
4. 1 tbsp water

For the filling

1. 250 gm mushrooms, finely chopped
2. 1 cup fresh ricotta
3. 2 tbsp grated parmesan
4. 2 cloves garlic, minced
5. 2 tbsp olive oil
6. couple of sprigs of fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
7. salt and pepper, to taste

For the sauce

1. 200 ml low fat cream
2. juice and zest of one lemon
3. 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
4. 2 cloves garlic, minced
5. 1 small onion, finely chopped
6. salt and pepper, to taste

For the dough

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor, pulse to start, then process until the dough comes together.
2. Spread onto a floured work surface, bring the dough to a ball. Knead it lightly by hand, for a couple of minutes.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for at least an hour, at room temperature.

For the filling

1. Heat oil in a pan over low heat. Add garlic and stir for 2 minutes, or until translucent.
2. Add the mushrooms and thyme leaves and continue to cook, until it is cooked and dry. Let it cool to room temperature.
3. Add ricotta, parmesan, salt and pepper and mix well. {churn the mixture in food processor, if you want a smoother cheesy filling}

For the pasta and sauce

1. Divide the dough into two equal parts. Dust the work surface lightly with flour.
2. Roll each dough ball using rolling pin, applying gentle and even pressure. Turn the side of the rolled dough every now and then, dusting with just enough flour. Roll the dough, as thin as possible, so that you start to see your fingers through, when you hold the pasta sheet back up with your hands.
3. Using a 2 inch round cookie cutter, cut into small rounds. At this point of time, you need to act fast, so as to avoid drying up of rolled pasta sheet.
4. Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the middle of each round of pasta. Dip your finger in the bowl of water and run it along the edge of the round to moisten. Fold the dough over to form a half moon, then draw the two corners together to form a rounded bonnet-shape. Press tightly to seal. Toss with flour, set aside on well-floured baking sheet, and cover. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough, re-rolling the scraps.
5. To make the sauce, saute garlic and onion in olive oil over low heat, until translucent. Add the cream and let it cook, until it starts to boil. Add lemon zest and juice and stir and quickly take off the heat. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a tablespoon or two of salt. Lower the tortellini into the water a few at a time with a slotted spoon. Stir the pot occasionally to prevent the tortellini from sticking to the pot or each other. Cook until all the tortellini have bobbed to the surface of the water, about 5 minutes.
7. Drain the pasta thoroughly and add to prepared sauce and mix well to coat. Sprinkle with some grated parmesan and serve hot.

By Himanshu Taneja

The White Ramekins https://thewhiteramekins.com/