PREP: 1 hour STAND: 10 minutes COOK: 7 minutes per batch MAKES: about 50 tortellini

Handmade Tortellini

What You’ll Need

1 recipe Homemade Pasta (page 325)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp. water

Desired filling (pages 332–333)

How to Make It

1. Prepare Homemade Pasta dough. To shape tortellini, cut rolled dough into circles with a 2½- to 3-inch round cutter, cutting out as many circles from rolled dough as possible. Reroll scraps as needed.

2. In a small bowl combine egg and the water; brush dough circles with egg mixture. Place about ¼ to ½ tsp. desired filling in the center of each circle. Fold the circle in half to make a half-moon. Press edges of dough together, moistening with egg mixture if necessary. Place one finger against the fold; bend tortellini around the finger, bringing the outer two corners together. Place one corner over the other, moistening with water if necessary. Pinch the ends firmly together to secure. Let dry about 10 minutes before cooking.

3. To cook, in a Dutch oven bring a large amount of salted water to boiling. Gently drop 12 to 15 tortellini, one at a time, into the boiling water and stir to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Simmer gently 7 to 9 minutes or until tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a serving dish.

To Freeze: Place tortellini on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Transfer to a freezer bag or container and freeze up to 8 months. (Freezing tips, page 467.)

PER 8 TORTELLINI WITH CHEESE FILLING: 254 cal., 7 g fat (2 g sat. fat), 95 mg chol., 460 mg sodium, 38 g carb., 1 g fiber, 9 g pro.

1. Roll the dough until about 1/16 inch thick. Use a 2 ½- to 3-inch cutter to cut dough into rounds.

2. Working with a few dough rounds at a time, brush each circle lightly with the egg wash. The egg works like glue.

3. Place about ¼ to ½ tsp. filling in the center of each circle. keep in mind a little goes a long way when filling pasta.

4. Fold the circles in half, pressing the edges together to seal. Bring the outer corners together, using additional egg wash to adhere them.