Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Tortellini

About a year before I met my fiance, Ken, I was well acquainted with a snapping turtle named Tortellini. She was eventually re-released into the wild, but I still think of her often. We now have three other turtles in our lives, including one baby who keeps getting bigger and bigger. Meet Tusk:

I’ve practiced making homemade ravioli a few times in the past (see below) but I have yet to venture into the world of other filled pastas.

I had plenty of time today, so I decided to attempt tortellini. I followed the basic recipe at Vegan Dad for the dough and the ricotta. I cheated and used a jarred sauce-Newman’s Own is my favorite premade pasta sauce.

Ingredients:

For Pasta Dough:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup semolina flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ~3/4 cup water

1. Sift together the semolina and all purpose flour. Make a well in the center and pour in olive oil and 1/4 cup water. After stirring, the dough should be crumbly. Add second portion and stir again-the dough should be forming larger clumps. If it seems well combined, don’t add the last 1/4 cup. Form dough into a ball and knead dough for a few minutes until smooth. Set aside in a greased bowl covered in plastic wrap for about 30 minutes.

For Ricotta:

• ~4 ounces medium firm tofu
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 3 tbsp vegan cream cheese (optional-use extra tofu instead)
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp basil
• salt and pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

For Filling:

• 1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup medium button mushrooms, diced finely
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt, pepper, basil to taste
• Tofu Ricotta, from above.

1. Heat a medium pan over low and add thinly sliced onions. Stir every few minutes until onions are very soft. Add diced mushrooms and cook until mushrooms release liquid. Add salt, pepper, and a little basil. When basil smells fragrant, take off heat and let cool. Stir mixture into tofu ricotta.

2. Cut dough into 4 sections and roll each out into a long snake. Flatten each tube with a rolling pin until very thin. Cut into squares and spoon 1 tsp of filling into the middle of each square. Fold in half, sealing edges with a little water if necessary.  Wrap two corners around finger and seal. Vegan Dad suggested this video but I also looked up a few tutorials. After you make a few it becomes easier.

3. Heat a large pot of water over a rolling boil. Add all the tortellini and boil for about 5 minutes until they begin to float. Drain once all torts are floating.

4. Serve with favorite sauce.

Tags: food, italian, pasta, vegan, vegetarian