Tortellini to the rescue – The Denver Post

By Emily Weinstein, The New York Times

I took one of my kids to the grocery store last week with the specific goal of divining what she might happily eat at home for dinner and in her lunchbox at school, as opposed to what she vehemently claims she won’t eat under any circumstances.

This kid, who is still really young, is a good eater. She likes an array of different foods. She tries new things. She accepts what’s on her plate, even if it takes a little coaxing, and she finishes it all. She seems to get that choosing what you eat is a privilege and one that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Still, it’s unpleasant to cook while a children’s chorus of two howls lines like, “I hate bow-tie pasta!” (This is a lie. They love bow-tie pasta.) I can tell them to stop or divert them from the kitchen. But ideally we’ve already agreed on dinner and can skip this whole drama.

Cut to the store, where I’m in front of the refrigerated cheese tortellini — an amazing all-ages convenience food. You can easily find versions stuffed with spinach or ravioli stuffed with squash. But I’m starting simple with plain cheese. I want to boil a big package of this at night, feed it to everyone for dinner and then put the leftovers in lunchboxes. I show it to my kid and talk it up. She wants to put it in the cart.

I’m hoping this is the gateway tortellini moment that leads us to dinners like one-pot tortellini with prosciutto and peas. I also got the ingredients to make smashed chicken burgers, in the hopes they will join the rotation, alongside the sweetest corn on the cob. Those two recipes are below, along with three others for the weeks ahead.

1. One-Pot Tortellini with Prosciutto and Peas

Luxurious in the end result but not in process, this quick, one-pot pasta features crisp shards of salty prosciutto, soft pillows of tortellini and bright pops of sweet peas in a silky lemon cream sauce. The dish is inspired by pasta alla papalina, a more delicate carbonara that uses prosciutto instead of guanciale and Parmesan instead of Pecorino. While pasta alla papalina often uses long noodles, this dish uses tortellini and cooks them right in the broth and heavy cream: No waiting for a pot of water to boil, and the starch from the pasta helps the half-and-half thicken into a sauce. Serve alongside an arugula salad or seared asparagus. You can use bacon instead of prosciutto, which will add some smokiness.

By Ali Slagle

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more if needed
• 4 slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces)
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 16 to 20 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 2 cups (10 ounces) frozen peas (no need to thaw)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
• Salt and black pepper
• Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 1/2 teaspoons zest plus 1 1/2 tablespoons juice)

Preparation

1. In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium. Add the prosciutto in a single layer and cook, flipping halfway through, until golden and crisp, 2 to 4 minutes. Press occasionally with a spatula to ensure even crisping and reducing the heat as necessary if the fat begins to smoke. Transfer the prosciutto to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan.

2. To the skillet, add the shallot and cook over medium until softened, 2 to 4 minutes, adding about 1/2 tablespoon butter if the pan is dry. Add the tortellini, peas, chicken broth, heavy cream and nutmeg (if using) and season with salt and pepper. Simmer over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until the pasta and peas are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. (The sauce will thicken as it cools.) Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Crumble the prosciutto on top.

2. Smashed Chicken Burgers With Cheddar and Parsley

These fresh, flavorful chicken burgers have a crunchy exterior, a tender interior and a healthy slathering of limey Dijon mayonnaise. They’re paired with salad that’s prepared using leftover burger ingredients, and a little avocado and lettuce. Serve the burgers between lightly toasted buns, as the recipe suggests, or skip the bread and enjoy them without for a lighter dinner.

By Yasmin Fahr

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 limes, 1 juiced (about 2 tablespoons), 1 cut into wedges
• 1 1/4 packed cups flat-leaf parsley, leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup grated cheddar, plus 1/4 cup cubed, plus 8 slices for topping
• 1 small shallot, minced (about 1/4 cup)
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1 pound ground chicken, preferably dark meat
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola oil, or ghee
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large head butter or Boston lettuce, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 ripe Hass avocado, diced
• 4 brioche or burger buns, lightly toasted

Preparation

1. In a small serving bowl, combine the mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon mustard. Season to taste with salt and the juice of 1 lime wedge.

2. In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine 1 cup parsley with the grated cheese, shallot, garlic, cumin and red-pepper flakes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the Dijon mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add the chicken and gently combine. Form into 4 large, round balls.

3. Heat a 12-inch cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high until very hot, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Add the neutral oil or ghee, then add the chicken meatballs, spacing them out in the pan. Use a metal spatula or the back of a wooden spoon to press them until they form 1/2-inch thick patties. Cook without moving for 3 to 4 minutes, until a deep golden crust has formed on the bottom and they easily release from the pan. Flip the patties using a sturdy spatula and cook until cooked through with a nice crust on both sides, about 3 minutes more. If the patties need more time, you can cover the pan and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes, adjusting the heat as needed to avoid scorching. A minute or two before they’re done, set 2 slices of cheddar cheese on top of each patty to melt.

4. While the burgers are cooking, in the bottom of a serving bowl, mix the 2 tablespoons lime juice with the remaining 1 teaspoon mustard; whisk in the olive oil until smooth and season with salt and pepper. Add the torn lettuce leaves, avocado, remaining parsley and cubed cheddar, and toss to coat with the dressing.

5. Place the burgers on the buns, slather with Dijon mayonnaise, and top with a little of the greens and avocado from the salad. Serve with the salad, plus the lime wedges and any remaining Dijon mayonnaise on the side.

3. Oven-Seared Salmon With Corn and Tomatoes

This one-pan dinner pairs browned fish with a colorful salad of charred corn, tomatoes, scallions, herbs and lime, proving that summer cooking is best when you get out of the way of the ingredients. The salmon develops a crisp crust without requiring a sear on the stovetop thanks to a light coating of mayonnaise and the direct scorch of the broiler. You won’t taste the mayonnaise; instead, it’s there to caramelize the salmon’s surface while insulating the delicate flesh. Corn kernels cook alongside just long enough to plump, sweeten and char in spots. The salmon and salad are a meal unto themselves, or you could accompany them with quinoa or garlic bread.

By Ali Slagle

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 4 ears)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 (6- to 8-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets, patted dry
• 1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 lime
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup basil or cilantro leaves

Preparation

1. Heat the broiler to high and set a rack in the upper third of the oven. On a sheet pan, toss the corn with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Push to one side. Add the salmon to the empty side of the pan, skin-side down. Season the salmon all over with salt and pepper, then coat the tops with a thin layer of mayonnaise. Broil, stirring the corn occasionally, until the salmon is opaque with a browned crust and the corn is bright in color and browned in spots, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. To the corn, add the tomatoes, scallions and remaining tablespoon oil. Zest the lime on top of the vegetables, then squeeze half the lime on top; cut the remaining half into wedges for serving. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper, then top with the basil leaves. Serve the salad alongside the salmon, with a squeeze of lime as you like. (After cooking, wedge your spatula between the salmon and skin to easily remove the skin.)

4. Ginger-Scallion Tofu and Greens

A classic Chinese condiment, ginger-scallion oil is most commonly served with poached chicken but is incredibly versatile — and shines here, applied to cold silken tofu and blanched greens. Most Chinese families will have their own version of the aromatic oil, each with their own ideal ratio of ginger to scallions. There are no hard rules here, so feel free to adjust the amount of ginger and scallions to your preferences. Thinly slicing both will give you a robust sauce, but you may chop them until minced for a smoother sauce. This oil is a great one to make in bulk, as it keeps, refrigerated, up to one month, so you can add it to rice, roasted veggies, pan-fried tofu, cold noodles or eggs, invigorating your everyday cooking.

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• Salt
• 4 baby bok choy (about 12 ounces), each trimmed and quartered lengthwise
• 4 scallions, trimmed, white and green parts thinly sliced and separated
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 (2-inch piece) fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup neutral oil
• 2 (14- to 16-ounce) blocks silken tofu, cold
• Toasted white or black sesame seeds, for serving
• White rice (optional), to serve

Preparation

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the baby bok choy and cook until the stems are just tender and the leaves are bright green, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Rinse under cold water until thoroughly cooled, then drain well.

2. Place the green parts of the scallions into a heatproof bowl and add the soy sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar.

3. Place the ginger, white parts of the scallions and the neutral oil into a small pot and place on medium-high heat. Stir until the ginger and scallions start to sizzle and become aromatic (watch closely so that they don’t burn), 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately — and carefully — pour this over the green scallion mixture. Stir to combine. Taste and season with salt; it should be quite salty to balance the neutral flavor of the tofu.

4. Carefully drain the liquid from each package of tofu, and gently tip the blocks onto a clean kitchen towel. (Try to keep each block in one piece, but don’t worry if it falls apart.) Pat with another clean kitchen towel, removing as much liquid as possible. Transfer the blocks to one large plate or two smaller plates and cut into 1-inch blocks. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Add the bok choy on top and around the tofu and spoon over the ginger-scallion oil. To serve, top with sesame seeds and eat as is or serve with rice.

5. Vegetarian Mushroom Shawarma Pitas

Dusted with smoky spices like cumin, coriander and paprika, these thick-cut roasted portobello mushrooms are inspired by shawarma, Middle Eastern spiced lamb — and they taste surprisingly meaty. The flavors are bold, but the prep is simple: While the mushrooms and onions roast, make an easy turmeric and Greek yogurt sauce, and toss sliced red cabbage with salt. Pile everything into a pita with a flurry of cilantro and mint to freshen things up (parsley or salad greens would also do the job in a pinch). While these hearty pitas are best enjoyed with a knife and fork as open-faced sandwiches, they can also be folded into half-moon parcels and eaten out of hand.

By Alexa Weibel

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound portobello mushroom caps, sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1 medium red onion, halved and cut into 1/3-inch wedges
• 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground sweet or smoked paprika (optional)
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 pitas
• 2 packed cups very thinly sliced red cabbage (about 6 ounces)
• 3/4 cup low-fat or whole-milk Greek yogurt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• Cilantro or mint, for serving