Meat Lover's Tortellini Skillet
Try this Meat Lover's Tortellini Skillet recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Meat Lover's Tortellini Skillet recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 0.0924 g
- Cholesterol 9.52 mg
- Fat 6.3056 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 1.624 g
- Saturated Fat 2.09902 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (14g)
- Sodium 116.62 mg
- Sugar 0.0924 g
- Trans Fat 0.695240000000001 g
- Calories 64 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook bacon in an oven safe skillet until browned and crispy. Remove bacon from skillet and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Leave about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet and discard the rest.
- Saute the andouille sausage in the bacon grease over medium heat until browned. Carefully add the marinara sauce, water and tortellini to the skillet. Stir and bring to a low boil, reduce heat and cover for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.
- Stir and then sprinkle the cheese over the top of the pasta in an even layer. Top with the sliced pepperoni and crumbled bacon. Cover and cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- If desired, place skillet under your oven's broiler for about 2 minutes to melt cheese even more. Enjoy!
Relying on a single vessel limits cleanup while requiring careful heat management to prevent scorching dairy and tomato solids. Thick-cut bacon renders substantial fat at medium heat, creating a seasoned medium for subsequent proteins. Retaining exactly two tablespoons of this grease provides adequate lipid mass to brown diced andouille without making the final sauce overly heavy.
Fresh cheese-filled tortellini behaves differently than dry pasta variants because its moisture content is higher and its casing is delicate. Simmering the pasta directly in marinara sauce and water for seven to ten minutes allows the starch to hydrate while thickening the liquid simultaneously. Covering the skillet traps steam, ensuring the tortellini cooks evenly without needing a separate pot of boiling water.
Layering shredded mozzarella and sliced pepperoni over the simmered pasta creates a barrier that holds heat beneath the cheese. Broiling the assembled dish for two minutes post-simmer applies direct radiant energy to brown the lipids on the pepperoni edges. This short thermal burst melts the interior cheese completely without overcooking the pasta.
Scaling quantities up requires proportional pan sizing to maintain proper liquid evaporation rates during the simmer phase. Doubling the batch demands a wider skillet rather than a deeper one to ensure the tortellini maintains direct contact with the sauce.
