A few years ago, I shared an image of my cake layers in my freezer, ready to be unveiled. You’d expect people to comment on the cake. Nope. You have an empty fridge. You have an empty refrigerator. “I had no idea it was possible to empty a refrigerator.” “I never knew that was even possible.” I was like, “People have full fridges?” We only use it to store vodka and ice-cube trays. Oh, Deb from 2008. Come and see the state of your freezer circa 2016. Two kids will have caused.
Vodka? Use it to make Vanilla extract. Ice cube tray, anyone? We are currently empty because we have used a bag we bought for a birthday party and are too distracted to make any more. You can only open the freezer an inch at a given time. This means that you won’t be able to find blocks of baby food or soup stock. Also, there are no ice packs in monkey shapes for boo-boos. There is also nothing frozen for Lunchboxes. There are some lovely things like macaroni and cheese or chocolate babka, but they’re in the same proportion as potstickers and pasta.
The idea of combining potstickers with tortellini never occurred until I read a post in Ideas In Food two months back. They said they had cooked frozen tortellini as potstickers and liked the crisp results. What? It took me 24 hours to taste this and.24 bites to be totally and completely jealous of my sons’ dinner. Crispy tortellini is everything.
It’s common to cook frozen potstickers by browning them in a hot pan while still frozen. Then, add some water, cover them with a lid, and let them steam until they are perfect — crispy at the bottom and hot through. * You can also do what we did first — warm a little sauce in a bowl for easy dipping. Once I realized that we would be eating these regularly, I couldn’t help but experiment. This time, I used creamed peas with mint and prosciutto. It only took 4 minutes more (bringing the total prep time of this meal to 12 minutes), and it looked like something out of a fancy restaurant. Not the frozen part, either.
You can also use the reverse method — adding water, then browning it at the end. However, the first one is best if you want to add lightly-steamed vegetables.
One year ago: Not Derby Pie Bars
Two years ago: Fresh Spinach Pasta
Three Years Ago: Essential Raised Waffles
Four Years Ago: Bacon Egg & Leek Risotto
Five Years Ago: Creme Brulee French Toasts
Six Years Ago: Homemade pop tarts Cabbage, lime, and peanut salad
Seven Years Ago: Buttermilk ice cream and A trip to the Ranch
Eight Years Ago: Green Beans and Cherry Tomato Salad
Chicken Empanadas with Chorizo and Olives
For the other side:
Six Months Ago: Kale and Caramelized Onion Stuffing
A Year ago: Sticky Toffee Pie
2.5 Years Ago: Perfect Uncluttered Chicken Stock
3.5 Years Ago: Granola-Crusted Nuts
4.5 Years Ago: Homesick Texan Carnitas
Crispy Tortellini With Peas And Prosciutto
Source: Food Ideas
In the Skillet
Three thin slices of prosciutto
Olive oil, 1 to 2 tablespoons
About 3 cups of frozen cheese tortellini, 13-14 ounces package.
No need to defrost 1/2 cup of frozen peas
1/4 cup water
To Finish
Use 3 tablespoons of creme fraiche, mascarpone or crème fraîche
Half a lemon juice, to taste
Black pepper and salt freshly ground
Fresh mint leaves cut into thin slices
Grated Parmesan (optional).
A large, deep pan with a lid** should be heated over medium-high heat.
Add prosciutto to a large, deep skillet with a lid** and heat until it curls and browns underneath, approximately 2 minutes.
Turn over and cook on the other side until it is browned.
Use a paper towel and blot the oil.
Add oil to the same skillet and heat for one minute. Add frozen tortellini to a pan in one layer. Cook for 2 to 4 mins or until the bottoms are browned. Sprinkle frozen peas on top and add water to the pan. It will ROARHISS. Cover the pot and steam the vegetables for 5 minutes. Please don’t overdo it because the water will cook off too fast. You’ll need to add more. After 5 minutes, all the water should be cooked out. Pour pasta and peas into a bowl. Add more water to the pan to “deglaze,” or loosen any stuck pasta with a thin, flat spatula. Toss until crisp again.
Dollop creme fraiche over pasta immediately so that it melts. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Crumble prosciutto (if you are using it) over the pasta. If desired, add slivers or mint, as well as Parmesan. Dig in. Pat your freezer on the back.