Tortellini Alfredo
Make this creamy pasta dish on nights when you need a bowl full of comfort. Cream, garlic, Parmesan, pancetta and spinach make this a rich and flavorful dinner.
Servings 4
Calories 1239
Ingredients
- 6 ounces pancetta or bacon chopped into small cubes
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 pound Tortellini
- 2 cups heavy cream or whipping cream
- 4 oz salted butter 1 stick/8 tablespoons/½ cup
- ¾ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated, plus more for serving
- 12 oz Baby Spinach freshly washed
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- fresh flat-leaf parsley Chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook the Tortellini until just undercooked. It will finish cooking in the sauce.
- While the pasta is cooking, in a deep saute pan, cook the pancetta or bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels then drain all but a tablespoon of the grease from the pan.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds then add the cream. Heat over low-medium heat.
- Add butter and whisk gently until melted. Mix in cheese until it melts into the sauce.
- Add the spinach in batches and allow it to wilt into the sauce.
- Drain the Tortellini, reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the pan, gently toss to coat in the Alfredo sauce (adding some of the pasta water if needed to loosen).
- Add the cooked pancetta or bacon. Top with more grated cheese and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
Notes
- When cooking Tortellini, salt the water well so that it seasons the pasta. The best sauce in the world cannot fix bland pasta.
- Cook the pasta until just underdone and allow it to finish cooking in the sauce so it absorbs the flavors gets well coated in the sauce.
- Save some pasta water. It can be used to thin out the sauce.
- Don’t use oil when cooking pasta it causes the sauce to just slip off the pasta instead of coating it.
- Use Cream with a high-fat content as it thickens when cooked without the use of a thickening agent.
- Some Parmesan cheese is quite salty, so be sure to taste before seasoning.
- Don’t Have Parmesan Cheese? Use Cheeses with lots of flavor that will melt easily into the sauce like Pecorino Romano, Asiago, or Grana Padano.
- Serve imminently Alfredo sauce thickens as it cools and if left too long the tortellini will clump together.
- For a vegetarian option omit the pancetta.
- Variations: Add cooked chicken, shrimp for a whole new dish.
Nutrition
Calories: 1239 | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 99g | Saturated Fat: 54g | Cholesterol: 308mg | Sodium: 1389mg | Potassium: 665mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 10595IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 554mg | Iron: 6mg