Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 9-ounce packages chicken tortellini
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers
- 12-16 spears of asparagus, cut into bite size pieces
- approx.. 1 - 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
- grated parmeason cheese for garnish
PROCEDURE:
Get started by bringing a large pot of water to a boil for cooking the tortellini and, while that's coming to boil, take a minute to chop the spears of asparagus into bite sized pieces.
You also need to grab another smaller deep pot and put that on high heat and reduce 2 cups of heavy cream until it's reduced by about half. (Just when the cream starts to come to a boil you have to adjust the heat so that it stays at a nice rolling boil, but doesn’t boil over.)
When you are happy with how much the cream has reduced, add 1/2 cup well rinsed, deseeded and chopped roasted red peppers to that and then use a hand blender to puree that. (You could transfer this to a food processor or blender and do it in that if you don't have a hand blender, but be careful about the hot liquid expanding as you puree it in those.)
This is a simple dish yet a fantastic combination! Dan Eaton has more.
If the pepper cream seems a little bit thin, when you’re done pureeing it, you can keep reducing it as you steam the asparagus in a little bit of water, on high heat with a tightly fitting lid, and also cook the chicken tortellini in the boiling water at the same time.
After the tortellini has been boiling along for a couple of minutes and the asparagus has been steaming for a couple of minutes, add the frozen peas to the asparagus and let those warm through and then drain everything and toss it together with the roasted red pepper cream. All that's left is to serve it up in individual bowls with some grated parmesan cheese on top!
HINTS:
Use cheese tortellini or sausage tortellini instead.