Cheese Tortellini with Pesto and Sun Dried Tomatoes
Last Thursday I got up bright and early knowing that I had a busy day ahead of me. It involved the hitting gym, cleaning the house, getting ready for a family visit and completing the Daring Bakers Challenge. By dinner time I was exhausted and ready to run to the nearest drive through to pick up a burger and fries. That however, would’ve made the trip to the gym earlier in the day a big waste of time. Instead, I decided to look for a meal that was short on time but big on flavor. This quick pasta is just that. There are 4 ingredients and 2 steps. I had this meal on the table in 10 minutes.
For this recipe you can use store bought pesto but I had just purchased a bunch of basil the day before so I made my own. It is fairly easy to make. I will say that a package of pine nuts can be pretty expensive. If you are only using them for this recipe, check the bulk section of your grocery store. I found some there, got exactly the amount I wanted and it only cost a few dollars.
Cheese Tortellini with Pesto and Sun Dried Tomatoes Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 (9 ounce) package fresh cheese tortellini pasta
- 1/2 cup pesto (see below)
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
- Freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
Basic Pesto
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Transfer to serving bowl.
Combine basil, garlic, pine nuts and cheese in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
With the food processor running, slowly pour in a steady stream of extra virgin olive oil until combined. Refrigerate any unused portion in a airtight container for up to 1 week.
Mix pesto with tortellini and sun dried tomatoes. Toss to coat pasta. Sprinkle with cheese.
Serve.
Notes
Enjoy!
Luther Vandross
February 17, 2014 at 9:43 pmplanning on trying this with a homemade cannabis-infused pistachio pesto sauce and bacon in addition to the sun dried tomatoes.
Debra
February 25, 2010 at 11:42 pmI’ve already made this dish 3 times within the past two weeks. My husband and I love it! I will never look at store-bought pesto the same. Great hit for Valentines Day and I love the vegetarian options, please keep them coming! Thanks!
Cheese products
September 25, 2009 at 4:04 amSimple but delicious flavor of pasta.
Fun and Fearless in Beantown
August 11, 2009 at 6:34 amI made this delicious and easy recipe on Sunday night. I substituted the sun dried tomatoes with fresh cherry tomatoes that I purchased that day at a farm stand. Even with halving the cherry tomatoes, this ended up being so easy in prep and the fresh pesto smelled and looked amazing! I blogged about it and linked the recipe to your site (http://funandfearlessinbeantown.blogspot.com/2009/08/scenes-from-sundays-dinner-tomatoes.html). Thanks again for sharing!
Deseree
August 11, 2009 at 3:54 pmYou’re welcome fun and fearless! I am glad that you enjoyed it. I bet it was delicious with the substitution of cherry tomatoes.
Mrs. L
August 6, 2009 at 4:32 pmOn the table in 10 minutes? Works for me. And I have everything in the fridge but the pasta which would be easy to pick up after work. Yahoo!
Kevin
July 30, 2009 at 5:23 pmWhat a great combination of flavours for a pasta!
TasteHongKong
July 30, 2009 at 12:13 amHmmm, might be I shall try to use coarsely ground cashews for pine nuts then.
Yes, colors in the pic are in good harmony.
Cookie
July 29, 2009 at 2:28 pmI love these simple recipes! I’m lazy so I’d probably just use the premade pesto sitting right next to the tortellini! :)
Jessie
July 29, 2009 at 10:35 ampasta salads are a favorite of mine simply because there are so many different ways of making them. I love all of the colors in the photo as well. Your husband has a great eye for food!
Rita
July 28, 2009 at 7:02 pmHum, I love this dish, whenever I make I always make extra and have it later cold (or room temp) as a salad. Nice photo!
Soma
July 28, 2009 at 2:27 pmBasil & sun dried tomatoes? can I come over? these 2 makes every single thing taste like a dream.. lovely picture there.