Spinach Tortellini

This was my entrée for my senior year cooking competition in culinary school. I was very surprised I won because my chef did not believe in such a thing as gourmet vegetarian cooking. The trick was to make a star dish that was so impressive, you never noticed the meal lacked meat. Serving freshly made espresso ice cream for dessert didn't hurt.

Originally, I made this with asparagus, but Papa Smurf doesn't like asparagus. He isn't fond of vegetables in general, but eats them because he knows they're probably good for him.

As with most doughs, pasta dough will get tough the more times you roll it. You'll get two roll-outs out of this no problem, but the third will be much tougher. By then, you should be almost out of filling anyway, so it won't matter.

1 recipe pasta dough

2 oz baby spinach leaves

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 C cream cheese

salt to taste

1. Chiffonade spinach leaves and discard any stems. Combine spinach, a dash of salt, garlic, and 1 tsp water in a saucepan. Cook just until spinach wilts, one minute. Remove from heat. Whip together with cream cheese in food processor to make a smooth mixture, or by hand to leave visible pieces of spinach. Chill until ready to use.

2. Roll out pasta dough very thin. Let it rest a moment, since it will probably shrink up a bit. Cut into 2" circles. Into center of each circle place scant 1/2 tsp filling. Fold over and seal to form a semi-circle, then pull in the two diameter ends to make the tortellini shape. (If this sounds too complicated, cut two sheets of squares and make ravioli.) Place shaped tortellini on parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to cook, up to 8 hours.

3. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pasta pot. Carefully drop in tortellini and cook until pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes. They should all be floating.  Drain, rinse, and serve hot with your favorite pasta sauce.

Serves 3-4

Difficulty rating  $@%!