Sound like a mouthful? It is a delicious mouthful so forge ahead. I’m a recent convert to a wonderful website called cheeky kitchen dot com, and I have been getting some fun recipes from Brooke’s brilliant brain trust on vegan cooking. She’s also got lots of recipes she created in her pregan days, which means for those of you craving meatier options, she’s got those, too. Have a look and enjoy her fun blog. Meanwhile, we’ve got some cooking to do. These tortellini are not difficult to assemble, but they do take time. Kitchen helpers will definitely speed up the process and provide quality family together time. (Yeah, it didn’t work with mine, either, but they still helped.)
I’m going to provide Brooke’s word-for-word instructions on how to roll your tortellini, but my recommendation is to jump over to her original recipe and look at the step-by-step pictures. If you’re visual like me, that will be the most helpful tutorial. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t actually roll any of the tortellini consumed in my meal. My kitchen helpers had full reign of the tortellini filling & rolling station.
I know. I’m excited about knowing how to wrap my own tortellini, too. Think of the possibilities!
With each subsequent bite, this dish grew on me. I think my brain was wired for pasta, and as such was expecting a heavier experience, but this was light and fresh tasting. The tofu ricotta filling could easily have passed for its alter dairy ego if I hadn’t told you, and there are variations on that theme I’m thinking about already, like stuffed shells with marinara sauce. But I digress. This is a simple meal that takes time to put together. Actual cooking time is less than 15 minutes for all of it. Let me know what you think!
Homemade Tofu Ricotta Tortellini
Ingredients:
- Extra Firm Tofu - 1 (14-ounce) block, drained and crumbled
- Tahini - 2 tablespoons
- Garlic Cloves - 3, finely chopped
- Freshly Ground Nutmeg - Pinch
- Mellow White Miso - 2 teaspoons
- Fresh Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon
- Black Pepper - 1/4 teaspoon
- Scallions - 2 tablespoons, finely chopped
- Fresh Marjoram - 1 tablespoon, finely chopped
- Fresh Sage - 1 tablespoon, finely chopped
- Ume Plum Vinegar - 1/2 tablespoon
- Lemon Drizzle
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
- Garlic - 3 cloves
- White Wine - 3/4 cup
- Meyer Lemons - 2, squeezed for the juice
- Honey or Brown Rice Syrup - 1 tablespoon
- Salt - 1 teaspoon
- Asparagus - 1 bunch, cleaned and cut into 2" pieces
- Green Peas - 1 cup
- Scallions - 1/4 cup, chopped
- Parsley - 2 tablespoons, chopped
- Walnuts - 1/4 cup, chopped
Instructions:
The tofu ricotta filling is simple and quick to put together, but you might get your hands messy doing it. Crumbling your tofu takes the longest amount of time, but that's not very long. You can either crumble with your hands (fastest) or use a utensil. Once your tofu resembles crumbly ricotta cheese add the rest of your filling ingredients into the bowl and stir completely to mix it all together.
Spoon a teaspoon of the filling into the center of a single wonton wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper, and fold it on the diagonal, pressing the edges to seal completely. (Sprinkle your workspace with a very small amount of flour, if needed to keep your workspace and your wonton wrappers dry as you fold them. A wet wrapper can split and tear, which makes for rather nasty tortellini.) Beginning from the tip of the folded triangle, roll the wrapper toward the fat part of the triangle, as you would roll a cigarette. Gently moisten the tips of the wonton wrapper, then fold it into a circle, pressing the ends together to secure them tightly together. Place on a piece of parchment until all your wonton wrappers have been filled with tofu ricotta and rolled into tortellini.
Alright. Moving right along. Cooking the tortellini couldn't be easier, and you already know this drill from the pre-packaged pastas you've been preparing all these years. Bring a large pot of water to boil then drop the tortellini into the scalding liquid. When they float to the top they're ready to come out! This whole process takes 3-5 minutes. Drain your pasta and place them in a large bowl.
Down to your vegetables. Heat 1 T oil in a large skillet. Add your garlic and mix it around for about a minute. Next, pour the wine, lemon juice and honey into the skillet and cook it over medium-high heat until your total liquid is reduced in half. Whisk the salt into the sauce and toss in the asparagus. Cover the skillet just long enough to steam the asparagus (about one minute). I didn't have any peas, but if you do, now's the time to add them - just before you pour the entire concoction over your hot tortellini. Make the whole dish a bit prettier and tastier by sprinkling with scallions, parsley and walnuts.
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