Tortellini alla Panna with Prosciutto and Peas
Try this Tortellini alla Panna with Prosciutto and Peas recipe.
Try this Tortellini alla Panna with Prosciutto and Peas recipe.
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- freshly ground sea salt to taste
- 100 - 200 tortellini, homemade if at all possible . . . (my
- 2 tbsp. freshly grated sea salt
- 1-1/2 sticks of good quality butter
- 1 cup green peas (frozen is fine just have them thawed out)
- 1/2 cup prosciutto chopped (or a little more if you prefer)
- 8 ounces parmigiano cheese freshly grated
- freshly ground white pepper to taste
- freshly ground nutmeg to taste
- Carbohydrate 12.7821251057003 g
- Cholesterol 423.935309429154 mg
- Fat 159.001921842015 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 112.325946009486 g
- Saturated Fat 74.8915812888634 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (447g)
- Sodium 5569.08433229708 mg
- Sugar 12.7821251057003 g
- Trans Fat 8.27992081625676 g
- Calories 1930 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large, deep stock pot add the water, salt and olive oil (yes, Marcella Hazan says to use olive oil to help prevent the pasta from sticking together)
- When the water begins to boil, add the tortellini, a few at at time.
- If your tortellini is fresh, they will cook to al dente in about 3 minutes or so; taste as they cook.
- Cooking time for dried homemade tortellini will take at least 20 minutes.
- When cooked to the 'al dente' point, remove the tortellini with a strainer.
- While the tortellini is cooking, heat and melt the butter in a large frying pan on a low temperature.
- Gently add the tortellini when it is 'al dente' and toss ever so gently so that they do not break open.
- Add the peas and prosciutto.
- Add the heavy cream and the grated Parmigiano.
- The tortellini MUST be prepared IN the sauce; do not make them separately and then pour the sauce on the tortellini.
- Continue to mix everything very gently for 2 - 4 minutes.
- Sprinkle with salt, pepper and nutmeg to your taste preferences.
- Serve immediately.
Most cooks make the error of boiling pasta separately and pouring sauce over it afterward, which prevents the starch from binding properly with the fat. Integrating delicate stuffed pasta directly into a low-temperature pan sauce allows the butter and heavy cream to coat each piece uniformly while absorbing the savory notes of prosciutto and sweet peas. Understanding how ingredient states alter cooking physics ensures the final emulsion remains glossy rather than greasy.
- Fresh tortellini requires only three minutes of boiling water contact to reach an al dente bite, whereas dried alternatives demand up to twenty minutes of simmering patience to soften the dense, extruded dough.
- Maintain the frying pan on a very low temperature when melting the butter and heavy cream; excessive heat will cause the dairy fats to separate from the liquids, ruining the smooth texture of the sauce.
- Grate the eight ounces of Parmigiano cheese on a fine microplane rather than using pre-shredded varieties, ensuring the cheese melts seamlessly into the cream without clumping.
- Assess doneness visually and texturally by biting into a single piece of tortellini to check that the interior filling is piping hot while the exterior pasta maintains a firm resistance against the teeth.
