Cheese Tortellini with Peas and Pancetta is my idea of the perfect kind of comfort food!
Recently my freezer and I have been having a moment which works out perfectly as it’s officially Frozen Food Month and I'm kicking off my second year working with the NFRA! I don’t know if it’s like this for you guys, but my Januarys are always cool, calm and collected and then come February and March I feel like I’m living in the middle of a tornado. There are so many moving parts of my life right now, sometimes I just need a little bit of easy, comfort food to end the day. This Cheese Tortellini with Peas and Pancetta is exactly that!! Riffed from a dish my mom used to make us (ham + cheese pasta – may not sound like much, but it’s a game changer) it uses frozen Celentano Cheese Tortellini that’s topped with peas, pancetta and a cheese sauce to end all cheese sauces!
It’s one of those meals that takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish and it’s exactly what you need at the end of a crazy day! The lemon juice gives it an extra zip of flavor and viola – dinner is ready!
Cheese Tortellini with Peas and Pancetta
Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen Celentano Tortellini cheese tortellini
- 4 ounces chopped pancetta
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 ⅔ cups milk
- 1 cup frozen Green Giant peas thawed
- ¼ cup grated pecorino cheese plus more for sprinkling
- ¼ cup grated fontina
- Lemon wedges as needed
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Add the frozen peas to the boiling water for 30 seconds, just until warmed through. Remove and set aside. Add the tortellini to the same water and cook according to the package directions. Once cooked to al dente, drain and set aside.
- Place the pancetta in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Cook the pancetta, rendering the fat, until the pancetta is crispy. Remove the pancetta to small plate leaving the fat in the skillet.
- Add the butter to the same skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 30-45 seconds before adding the flour and stirring to combine. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring the mixture to a boil. Once the sauce thickens, season with salt and pepper and stir the tortellini, peas and the grated cheese into the sauce, stir to combine. Add half of the cooked pancetta back into the sauce.
- Add a squeeze or two of lemon juice and serve with the remaining pancetta as garnish.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe by What’s Gaby Cooking
This is exactly the kind of dish I need these days I think my friends would love these for our dinner tomorrow
I'm with you - this is my kind of comfort food too!
Had this at LaScalla's Italian restaurant in Philadelphia PA (or it was similar). It looks the same...we're having this for dinner tonite..following your delicious sounding recipe...I'' let you know.
please do!!
You had me at cheese and pancetta and peas okay you had me all along.
that looks SO simple and SOOOO good. yum!
Such a delightful quick and easy meal. The pancetta is on point.