Pages

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Balsamic Tortellini


So I made this for dinner last night, and Jeffrey loved it! I don't think it is my favorite food, but then again, I really don't like vinegar, so there you go. I didn't even add as much as it called for, and it was still too strong, but Jeffrey sure loved it, so we will see if I make it again. Maybe just for him. But for those of you who like vinegar in your foods, here it is:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 slices bacon
1 (9 oz) package cheese-filled tortellini
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion and bacon until onion is translucent and bacon is brown; remove from skillet and drain on paper towel
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. Return onion/bacon mixture to skillet and add cooked tortellini. Toss with 2 tbsp olive oil and heat through. Place in serving dish or bowl, sprinkle with vinegar and cheese and serve immediately.

P.S. Just a few notes. First, you can use red pepper instead of bacon, and it is still delish. Also, a few healthy tips that if I had known about, I would have done, and if I make it again, I will do again: cook bacon first alone. Don't use oil to cook it, because it makes enough of it's own. When the bacon is finished drain the grease, and blot or soak up the excess grease on the bacon. Once you have drained as much of the grease as you can, add the onion and cook it in the same pan. Cooking them together causes the onion to soak up all the bacon fat, and the bacon didn't seem to cook to a crisp like it should. Also, you don't have to salt the water for the tortellini. True, it makes the water boil faster, but just be patient and leave out the extra sodium that you really don't need. Another tip, you don't need 2 tbsp of olive oil to add to the onion/bacon/tortellini mixture. 1/2 tbsp would suffice, and probably only 1 tbsp of vinegar. I used 1 1/2, and it was still too much. Other than those few changes, it was pretty good.


1 comment:

Trish said...

That looks good! I'm not used to cooking with a lot of vinegar either. But if I were making that one, I would add something green to it.