Comments on: There are poor children all over the world who would not waste that tortellini

Question: There are poor children all over the world who would not waste that tortellini

oflinkey — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:02:32 -0800

I have a lot of fairly overcooked tortellini. What can I do with it?

I accidentally overcooked about 6 cups of tortellini that was supposed to go into a cold salad. Any suggestions for cooking methods that will perhaps firm them up a bit, or at least reduce the squish? They're fairly solid, but just very soft.

By: blaneyphoto

blaneyphoto — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:06:46 -0800

A quick solution would be a short time in the microwave, but even quite wet you'd get mixed results probably. Maybe try very small amounts at a time?

By: oxford blue

oxford blue — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:09:40 -0800

Fry/bake them.

By: longsleeves

longsleeves — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:18:08 -0800

If they have not disgorged their filling, perhaps just proceed gently and see what happens?

By: sindas

sindas — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:21:30 -0800

sauté with loads of olive oil or butter.

By: L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg

L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:24:02 -0800

I don't know about firming them up, but maybe make a tortellini soup? Obviously you wouldn't want to add them to the soup until it's done.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:24:46 -0800

Refrigerating them for an hour or two might firm them up enough to use in the cold salad as you would have.

By: Justinian

Justinian — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:26:28 -0800

Put some cheese on the top and bake it is your best bet. A kind of mac-and-cheese things.

Failing that, toss it. Pasta is dirt cheap. Actually, pasta is probably cheaper than good dirt.

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:27:55 -0800

Smoothies. For the infirmed. Or toothless.

By: Cool Papa Bell

Cool Papa Bell — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:55:38 -0800

6 cups of tortellini

Was the tortellini stuffed with anything?

Because you could totally blend it up, add more stuffing stuff and use the whole thing as a lasagna filling.

By: oflinkey

oflinkey — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 22:18:14 -0800

It is stuffed with cheese and spinach.

These ideas are very good, thank you!

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 22:28:13 -0800

I'm totally seconding a good hot saute with olive oil and butter. Deglaze the pan after with some white wine, and swirl in some heavy cream.

Now I'm hungry, damn you.

By: solongxenon

solongxenon — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 22:59:27 -0800

Mmm, saute with peppery olive oil, Italian garlic (strong!), gorgonzola and white pepper. To. Die. For.

An old Italian food wholesaler gave me this recipe.

By: watsondog

watsondog — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 00:11:44 -0800

Just cover it with tomato sauce and eat it hot. I can't see what the problem is.

Much of the population overcooks pasta, many deliberately because they were brought up on overcooked pasta and now can't stand "al dente".

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 00:44:05 -0800

One of my all time favorite dishes is fried rigoletti. It could easily be modified to make use of your tortellinis.

Get a few tablespoons of olive oil nice and hot, and toss the tortellini and some broccoli florets until both are browning, then add some cheese. Mozarella and Parmesan both, preferrably. The cheese will get pretty brown and stuck together, and this is proper. Oooh baby delicious. Serve with a side of marinara.

You might want to cook the soggy tortellini a while first before the broccoli if they're really mush.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 09:20:49 -0800