Tuesday, May 04, 2010

A recipe what I made up

Pete fixed the flickery, poltergeist light in the dining room, which for some reason has made me want to cook again. So for the first time in three years, I found myself just mixing this together in the kitchen, and damned if it wasn't tasty! So here is my awesome recipe that I made up. Feel free to name it whatever you please.

1 family pack tortellini
Olive oil
1/3 c finely chopped shallot
1/2 c finely chopped onion
Salt
Ground white pepper
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 c dry white wine
1 tsp-1tbsp lemon juice
1 lb bulk pork Italian sausage
1/4 c shredded parmesan
1/4 c chicken broth (or other liquid)
1 bunch spinach
1/3 c heavy cream
Shredded parmesan
Crumbled feta
Cherry tomatoes

1. Set water to boil for tortellini in large pot. In a different large pan, heat olive oil over medium.
2. Sauté shallots and onions until translucent. Salt and pepper lightly. Add tortellini to boiling water.
3. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Deglaze pan with wine and lemon juice. Cook until liquid is reduced a reasonable amount. (If this direction is unclear, keep in mind, I made it up as I went along.)
4. Add sausage to pan and cook until, um, cooked.
5. Drain pasta and add to pan with parmesan. Stir until parmesan is wilted and all sausage and tortellini are well mixed.
6. Add chicken broth. Add spinach in layer over top and cover. Cook until spinach is wilted.
7. Add cream, stir to incorporate, and move into serving dish.
8. Serve with parmesan, feta and halved or crushed tomatoes to garnish.
9. YUM!

Serves 4 or 5, depending on portions and hungriness.

I was super pleased with how this worked. It would have been nice to maybe have some toasted pine nuts in there too, but we didn't miss them. The cream might not seem important - it's so little for so much food - but it really pulls the whole thing together and makes it a cohesive dish.