Ricotta and spinach tortellini with creamy mushroom sauce

It took me about 3 hours to make these, with a little help from Trave, but it was well worth the effort!


Home-made tortellini with ricotta and spinach filling and their creamy mushroom sauce

Serves 4

For the dough:
250g plain flour (or a bit more if necessary)
1 TBSP basil-infused olive oil
1 TBSP water (or more if necessary)
1 pinch of salt
3 eggs
optional: 1 tsp turmeric if you want yellow coloured pasta dough. Otherwise it may look a bit pale like on these photos.

For the filling:
125g frozen spinach, thawed and pat dry
125g ricotta cheese
20g Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg
black pepper

For the sauce:
1 TBSP olive oil
250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
250ml double cream
1 TBSP parsley
25g Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper

1. Sieve the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well and place the eggs, oil and water in the centre of the well. Incorporate progressively the other ingredients to the flour. Once mixed, knead gently with your hands until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball.

2. Place a lit olive oil in the bowl, roll the dough into the oil. Cover the bowl and leave to rest for 30 minutes.


3. Meanwhile, make the filling by mixing all the ingredients together until you obtain a smooth mixture.


4. To make the tortellini, shape little balls with the dough, then roll them very thin using a pasta-rolling machine or a rolling pin to a 5 cm diametre circle (~2 in).

5. Place a teaspoong of the mixture in each circle, then seal them by brushing the edge with a little water and then pressing the edges together with a fork.


6. Boil the tortellini in lightly salted water for 7-10 minutes until 'al dente'. (you will need to start making the sauce before starting cooking the tortellini)

7. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a non-stick saucepan. Add the sliced mushroom and fry until the mushrooms are golden brown and their juice has evaporated. Add the cream and bring to the boil. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the Parmesand, parsley and season to taste. The sauce is ready when is has browned and thickened.

8. Once the tortellini are cooked, drain well and place onto warm pasta bowls. Pour the mushroom sauce, sprinkle with Parmesan and black pepper, and it's (finally!) ready!


Enjoy with a nice glass of red wine :-)