Cheesy Baked Tortellini

Today, while eating lunch before class, I turned on the Food Network. “Everyday Italian” was on, and Giada was making this amazing-looking baked pasta dish. I only caught the tail end, but I had to know what she was making. I went to FoodNetwork.com and searched for it, and lo and behold, I found this recipe for Cheesy Baked Tortellini.

I stopped by the store after class to get the ingredients and it was so worth it. Do be aware that this isn’t a cheap recipe—good cheese is pricy, and this recipe uses quite a bit of good cheese. So maybe this is a special-occasion-type recipe. No matter what, though, it’s incredibly delicious and it’s pretty easy too. I will definitely be making this again, especially since I have a lot of leftover cheese!

Cheesy Baked Tortellini

• Olive oil
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley leaves
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 pound purchased cheese tortellini
• 2 ounces thinly sliced smoked mozzarella
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish.

Whisk the sauce, mascarpone cheese, parsley and thyme in a large bowl to blend.

Mascarpone comes in a little tub like this—it’s a really great creamy cheese, sort of like ricotta but a lot creamier and with a little sweetness. It’s also great for using in Italian cheesecake.

Pretty, right? I couldn’t find fresh thyme and I didn’t feel like buying ground thyme when I know I would barely use it, so I used oregano, which I love. Oregano is a great substitute for thyme if you aren’t a fan of it. When using dried, ground herbs instead of fresh ones, use a little less because the flavor is more concentrated. I only used about a teaspoon of oregano. Use fresh herbs if you got ‘em though!

Whisk to combine as much as you can, but don’t worry about those little chunks of mascarpone cheese. They’ll melt when you add in the hot tortellini.

Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat.

In case you’re completely grocery-store-layout-inept like me, you can find these things in the refrigerated section by the milk and cheese (it’s right with the ricotta cheese). There, I just saved you 10 minutes of searching…10 minutes that I can’t get back… :( Also, these came in 9-oz. packages, but there are 16 oz. in a pound (the recipe amount)…so I just took a scant handful out of one package, put it in a Ziploc baggie, and saved it for later.

Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top the mixture with the smoked mozzarella (cut into thin slices) and Parmesan.

The smoked mozarrella may require a little searching. It was buried in my grocery store’s GIANT cheese island, and it was the last package of the stuff they had. It really makes the dish though, so definitely don’t substitute regular mozzarella! I loved the smoky flavor it had while still maintaining the creaminess of regular mozarrella.

Don’t be skimpy with the cheese. You paid good money for it, after all. The smoked mozzarella slices should be a little less than a quarter-inch thick, I’d say. They create a delicious, melty, smoky crust on top. Mmm.

Cover and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses on top melt, about 30 minutes.

Top with some grated parmesan and serve!

The great thing about this dish is that it’s versatile. You can use whatever kind of stuffed pasta you want, really. If you’re a meat fan, used some sausage-stuffed tortellini. You can use some spinach-stuffed tortellini, ravioli, whatever. You can also use your favorite tomato sauce—if you want to use a meat-based one, go for it. If you want to make your own, go for it. You can change up the herbs, the cheeses, anything—go crazy!

Let me tell you, people—this stuff was so freakin’ good. With the four college kids in our house, it was gone within minutes. Double the recipe for some great leftovers! Enjoy!