Summertime Tortellini Toss

I invited my dad and his girlfriend to dinner one weekday evening. And not just because I thought they would bring dessert... which they did:

They know me all too well.

But I digress... Back to a more relevant discussion!

When having people over for a meal, I think it's important to tailor your dishes to your guests' preferences and palettes, while still staying true to your own cooking standards. If you aren't familiar with your guests' likes and dislikes, or dietary restrictions, go ahead and ask them ahead of your meal planning. There's nothing worse than spending money, time, and energy preparing a meal and having your guests show up and say they don't eat x, y, or z. As a vegetarian, I know this all too well! I have showed up to many a dinner party or cookout where there was nothing but meat on the menu and of course the hosts feel bad for not knowing or forgetting or what have you. It doesn't hurt to double check before you go all out. With my family, it's easy to know all of this stuff ahead of time. My dad likes hardy foods and his girlfriend likes to eat pretty healthfully. So when I had them over for dinner this time, it was my goal to come up with a meal that would successfully marry those two preferences. And I think I did!

My dad loves Italian food and I usually make him pretty heavy meals (and that means I get to indulge as well!). But with it being mid-August, I wasn't exactly feeling the heavy-sauce-and-cheese-laden Italian foods that I normally go for. I wanted to accommodate what I think his girlfriend would like as well as the August heat and humidity. Ergo, I decided to make something with pasta for my dad (and me, who are we kidding?!), but with some nice, healthy, green veggies and a light sauce. I chose to go with cheese tortellini, which is both hardy and delish, and then picked out some bright green veggies from the produce section: rapini (otherwise known as broccoli rabe), sugar snap peas, and baby spinach. I decided that a light lemon-y white wine sauce would be the perfect complement to the other ingredients.

This is a typical Rachel recipe. I am known for taking random vegetables and throwing them together with some EVOO, garlic, and onion and pulling out a randomly wonderful tasting dish. That type of cooking is what inspired me to start my own food blog in the first place, so I am glad to be sharing this type of recipe with you.

As always, even though this happens to be a vegetarian meal, no one here will judge you for adding some meat protein to it if you want. Perhaps some shrimp would strike your fancy. I would sauté them with some EVOO, S&P, lemon juice, and grated garlic and set them aside. Add them back in maybe two minutes before you add the spinach so that they can warm through. You could even choose to get chicken or sausage stuffed tortellini instead of the cheese tortellini. Whatever you want to do!

And just for fun, here is a gratuitous picture of my little kitchen helper:

OK, let's get cookin'!

Summertime Veggie Tortellini Toss
Servings: 4
Prep time: 15
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Half of a bunch of broccoli rabe - cleaned, trimmed, and chopped
20 ounce package of cheese tortellini
3 tablespoons EVOO
1/2 large sweet onion
2 cloves garlic
4 teaspoons fresh cracked black pepper (FCBP)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (grey or kosher)
2 lemons, juiced
1/4 cup chicken or veggie stock
1/4 cup white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
2 handfuls sugar snap peas, cut into thirds
4 large basil leaves, julienned
4 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
Feta cheese crumbles, to taste

Begin by filling a large pot 3/4 of the way with water. Set it on the stove over high heat. When it comes to a boil, add the tortellini, and stir.

Set a kitchen time for the amount of time it says it takes to cook on the back of the package (mine was 7-8 minutes). When the timer goes off, drain the pasta in a colander in your sink and set aside.

Once you have your pasta water set up, start cooking the broccoli rabe.

Broccoli rabe can be very bitter tasting, so to cook out some of that bitterness, you boil it. Use a pan with high sides for this. Fill the pan about halfway full with water and set it on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli rabe.

Place the lid on your pot and let the rabe cook until it starts to soften and wilt.

Cook it for a total of 5 minutes, from the time you stick it in the pan until you drain it.

Place a colander in the sink and pour the water and rabe into it to drain. Set aside.

Put the pan back on the stove, over medium-low heat this time. Drizzle in the EVOO. Add the chopped onions and grate the garlic on top of them.

Sprinkle in a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon FCBP. Let cook for about five minutes, stirring regularly so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.

When the onions are softened and translucent, add your liquids: the lemon juice, chicken stock, and white wine. Stir.

Directly after adding the liquids, throw in the sugar snap peas.

Let cook for one minute, then add the broccoli rabe to the pan, as well as the basil. Stir.

Finally, add the spinach leaves. Place them on the top of your other veggies...

... and then stir well so that they are combined with the sauce. Mix in another teaspoon of FCBP and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Allow to cook so the spinach leaves wilt.

While the spinach is wilting, prepare your tortellini. Place the pasta back in the pot in which you cooked them.

Add two teaspoons FCBP, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and one teaspoon of EVOO. Stir.

Once the spinach has fully wilted, immediately pour the veggie mixture into the same pot as your tortellini. Toss it all together to coat the pasta in the sauce.

Pour the tortellini & veggies into your serving dish. Sprinkle with feta cheese - as much or as little as you prefer.

Scoop some of the pasta & veggies onto your dinner plate.

Serve with a glass of the white wine you cooked with, and enjoy. Salute!