Tortellini with Creamy Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds spinach tortellini or ravioli
1 cup marinara sauce (another quick recipe listed below if you don't have any on hand)
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
Parmesan cheese
Thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, to taste and for garnish
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Drain the ravioli, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Toss the ravioli with the remaining oil to coat.
Meanwhile, bring the marinara sauce to a simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Whisk in the cream. Add reserved cooking water as needed to thin the sauce to desired consistency. Return the sauce to a simmer. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, spoon some sauce over the bottom of each pasta bowl. Arrange the cooked pasta over the sauce. Drizzle remaining amount of desired sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan and basil and serve.
Quick Marinara Sauce
2 – 28 oz. cans whole tomatoes in juice
1 bunch fresh basil, stemmed
½ cup olive oil
2 small onions, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1 Parmesan rind (optional) or grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
In a blender, puree the tomatoes with their juice and the basil until almost smooth (an immersion blender would also work). Set the tomato puree aside.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until very tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree, oregano, sugar and optional Parmesan rind. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and continue simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or more if you have time. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Discard Parmesan rind.
The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. If storing for future use, cool, then cover and refrigerate or freeze.
Source: Christina Cooks, originally from Giada Di Laurentiis
Thank you again for stepping in to help with this recipe. I really appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed it!
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