If you were invited over to someone’s place for a first date, and Homemade Sweet Potato Tortellini with a Cranberry-Hazelnut topping was on the menu, you would be married the next day.
This meal is dressed to impress. It has the elegant air of a 5-star restaurant with a title that celebrates health conscious interests.
Practice folding with a ball of dough
As the dish is still pasta I would not consider it healthy. However, it packs a punch with how easy it is to make. We usually make ravioli for our special homemade meal, but I was determined to learn the art of tortellini this year (2020 goals). When comparing ravioli to tortellini: for ease and convenience – tortellini wins! There are no special tools needed, although they might help speed up the process. Less dough is needed to make the tortellini as there is only 1 layer used in the process, and consequently the thinness of the sheet of dough does not require as much precision as the ravioli. In addition the amount of filling that will fit in the wrap of the tortellini can be expanded and does not necessarily need to be measured, which I recommend for the ravioli. Tortellini are less delicate, finicky, and are more enjoyable to eat than ravioli.
Whether they are cut round or square, the tortellini do not care.
We invited my in-laws over for Pasta-Palooza this year and were greatly encouraged by how quickly they took to tortellini and ravioli making. We made three kinds of fillings and shared them between both types of pasta. Your first time can be a success too. For homemade tortellini, it would be nice to have a pasta roller, but we insisted our guests roll out their first batch by hand (rolling-pin) before trying the tools. They commented that it really was not that hard and would make the dough by hand at home regardless of their (lack of) pasta roller possession. Additionally, no tray or cookie cutter are required (although a rough cutter is more uniform).
Take-Home Tips: When making ravioli, take the excess scraps of dough cut off, re-roll, and cut for tortellini. Often the re-rolled dough is too thick for ravioli, but tortellini do not mind. You may want to boil these ones a minute longer, depending on your preferences. The spoon handle is a great way to start, but we found our pinkies and other fingers did a fine job. Make extra and freeze them. When you are ready to eat, just add to boiling water still frozen. Boil frozen tortellini for 5 minutes and enjoy. These sweet potato filled tortellini are yummy without a sauce of any kind, but pair well with a garlic butter, cream sauce, or a dried fruit and butter topping.
Scoring: 10 of 10! Can I give this recipe a 12 of 10? It definitely deserves the highest score. The tortellini kept well in the freezer until we brought this homemade meal on a road-trip to my parent’s house. Once we had the tortellini ready to boil, we added the chopped cranberries and hazelnuts to the butter and had a hot meal in minutes. It was not overly sweet potato flavored, did not want for much in a way of sauce, and was oh-so-easy and delicious. Best date-night ever.
Food of the Month 