How to Make Cheese Tortellini With Marinara Sauce
Life is getting busy around our house, and during this busy time I have to prepare my weekly dinner menu in advance. Zoe now has lacrosse, dance and cotillion 4 nights during the week so goodbye (for now) to sit-down family dinners, and hello make ahead and easy meals.
On Sundays, I put together a list of potential weeknight dinners and I also try to cook a two-nighter meal as well. When life is busy, I don't want to compromise on eating nutritionally, nor do I want us eating takeout every night. I want to offer my kids their veggies and a fairly balanced and nutritious meal. To accomplish this, I try and find recipes that I can either make ahead, that will provide dinner for 2 nights or ones that can be put together in a flash. This tortellini pasta matches all three of that criteria. You can throw it together in less than 45 minutes. You can also make it earlier in the day, cover it with foil, refrigerate it and then re-heat later that evening.Oh yeah!!!I'll be honest with you all and let you know that we end up using a jared sauce the majority of the time. I don't always make the homemade marinara sauce, and that's ok! My favorite jarred sauce to use for this pasta is Rao's homemade Marinara.
cheesy baked tortellini & homemade marinara sauce:
Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis Everyday Pasta
Serves 4 to 6
- 2 cups marinara sauce – store bought or homemade – I made a homemade version from Giada the day before- recipe to follow below. I have also made this recipe a number of times with different store bought sauces and my basic tomato sauce.
- 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1 pound cheese tortellini
- shredded mozzarella or smoked mozzarella cheese, –The recipe called for 2 ounces, but really, who measures out their cheese? Just top your dish with the amount of cheese you want.
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese – I also did not measure this. I just topped each casserole with some parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the tortellini. Lightly oil an 8x8x2-inch baking dish or 4 individual gratin dishes.
Below is what mascarpone cheese looks like. It resembles a soft cream cheese.
In a large bowl, mix together the marinara sauce, mascarpone cheese, parsley and thyme. It's best to mix everything with a spatula because you're going to have to press the mascarpone cheese against the sides of the bowl to get it to soften up.
When the pasta water comes to a boil, cook the tortellini until just tender or al dente, about 2 minutes. I used frozen tortellini and the 2 minute cooking time was perfect.
Drain. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat.
Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish or dishes. Not a great photo, but you get the step involved.
Top the tortellini with grated parmesan cheese and then add mozzarella cheese.
Cover the dish or dishes with a tin foil (I actually use parchment as my first layer and then tin foil. Tin foil is not great to cook with, as it can leach aluminum into food, so I use the parchment as a protective layer between the tin foil and the food).
Bake for exactly20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses melt on top, about 10 minutes longer.
Note: The cheese will be melted, but will be white and bland in color. We like the cheese to brown up and get crispy, so if you want your cheese to be browned and crispy, then turn on your broiler and place the pasta under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese browns up.
That is it folks! How easy was that dish to prepare?
This dish is a two-night meal for the kids and I and then some.
Got leftovers (because you will): Just cover the leftover pasta in the pan you cooked it in, and store it in the refrigerator.
Re-heat the pasta in the oven at 250 degrees till warm.
I'm actually re-heating up their leftovers as I write this post.
Here they are eating their leftovers! Happy as clams!
If you want to make your own marinara sauce then you can follow along with me below, if not, I get it!
This marina sauce is great because it can be made day ahead of time, and it's fairly easy to whip up. The only thing that really takes time is chopping up all the veggies. This is a wonderful marina sauce that you can use as a base for just about any Italian meal.
Basic Marinara Sauce:
Makes about 2 quarts
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 small yellow onions, small dice
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, small dice
- 2 carrots, peeled, small dice
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 2 – 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 2 dried bay leaves
In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add the celery, carrots and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Sauté until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.
Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste.
Let the sauce cool, and then refrigerate or freeze it. This sauce freezes very well, so I saved 2 cups for the above recipe, and froze the remaining amount for a later date.
The sauce may be stored frozen for up to 3 months.
If you don't want to make your own sauce, use your favorite store bought brand. I hate to admit it, but it what I typically end up doing!
How to Make Cheese Tortellini With Marinara Sauce
Source: https://marinmamacooks.com/2012/02/cheesy-baked-tortellini-homemade-marinara-sauce/