Tonight's Dinner: Tortellini stir-fry

Nov 30, 2011 8:00 AM by Jennifer Richmond

Posted in Food & Recipes / Quick & Easy Recipes / Easy Dinner Recipes

Pasta Goes Chinese

Tortellini is one of those yummy pastas with a surprise inside that's good with just butter and oil over it or a thick and hearty tomato sauce. But what if you forgo the sauce and threw it in the wok, stir-fry style? You'd get a whole new taste experience well worth the adventure.

Stir-fry is one of those entreés that's super easy and a great way to use up leftover meat or vegetables. The fact that it takes no time to whip up makes it a top dinner choice in my house. Usually when I make stir-fry, it's with chicken or shrimp, a bunch of veggies and served over rice. It's always filling and delicious and I rarely stray from my standard recipe. But then Buitoni suggested adding tortellini to the wok and I was instantly intrigued.

Tortellini is one of my favorite pastas because of the extra burst of flavor at their centers. Add that to the delectable sauces, oils and Chinese veggies used in stir-fry and I had a dinner that combined two of my favorite delicacies -- Chinese and Italian. Since I was using pasta, I didn't have to take the extra step of making rice as a filling base. The result was an entreé so unusual and flavorful, it immediately ran to the top of my go-to dinner choices.

Tortellini Stir-fry

Ingredients:

1 (9 ounce) package tortellini
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 (16 ounce) bag of stir-fry vegetables
1/3 cup prepared stir-fry sauce
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain and set aside.
While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, for seven to eight minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Stir in the pasta, stir-fry sauce and cayenne pepper and cook for one to two minutes or until the mixture is heated through. Serve immediately.