Pesto tortellini casserole

Pesto tortellini casserole

Pasta, we all know it, but how many of you eat tortellini on a regular basis? You can often buy this folded pasta fresh, but dried is also an option. When I go for dried I always choose the version with cheese. Somehow, dried meat doesn’t seem very appetizing to me. But that could be me.

I make this tortellini casserole with pesto as a seasoning and a lot of cheese. Three varieties, which makes it extra creamy. Actually a kind of mac & cheese but with tortellini. Four types of cheese if you include that of the filling!

Making the pesto

I make the pesto myself for this tortellini casserole. That is really not a lot of work and does so much for the taste of the dish! Don’t you feel like that? Then you can certainly use ready-made pesto, but don’t go for that in a jar. Nowadays you can find fresh pesto at the fresh produce section of most supermarkets. That is 100 times better than the one you can buy in a jar.

But making it yourself remains the best of course. For that you need 1 plant and you remove all the greenery from it. I use both the leaves and the stems and put this in a small food processor (or use a hand blender) and mix it with the garlic, pine nuts and salt. If necessary, add extra oil if it is not yet thin enough to your liking.

It is useful for the garlic to chop or mash it. Sometimes a piece of garlic remains a bit too large in the machine and that is really not tasty.

Then finish the tortellini casserole by mixing the pesto with the cooked tortellini and stir in the ricotta as well. Transfer to a large baking dish and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and divide the mozzarella over the top.

Just put it in the oven until it is golden brown and you can attack!

Pesto tortellini casserole recipe

PREPARATION TIME:   20 min    CALORIES:   973 kcal    Persons:   4

INGREDIENTS

• 440 gr tortellini with cheese Grand Italia
• 200 gr ricotta
• 1 scoop of mozzarella
• 75 gr parmesan cheese

Pesto

• 1 basil plant
• 60 ml of olive oil or more as needed
• 100 gr parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 tbsp pine nuts
• 1 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C
2. Put on a pot of water and bring to a boil. Cook the tortellini according to the directions on the package, but remove it from the water two minutes earlier. Drain and set aside.
3. While the pasta is cooking, make the pesto. Put basil, parmesan cheese, garlic, pine nuts and oil in a blender or use a stick blender. Smooth and add extra olive oil if necessary.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Mix the tortellini with the pesto and add the ricotta. Transfer to an oven dish.
6. Divide the mozzarella on top and the parmesan cheese.
7. Place in the oven for 15 minutes and, if necessary, use the grill to color the top golden brown.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE PER SERVING

Calories: 973 kcal

Carbohydrates: 54 g

Protein: 52 g

Fat: 62 g

Saturated fats: 24 g

Cholesterol: 142 mg

Sodium: 2157 mg

Potassium: 208 mg

Fiber: 5 g

Sugar: 5 g

Vitamin A: 1055 IU

Vitamin C: 1 mg

Calcium: 1071 mg

Iron: 4 mg

DISCLAIMER

The stated nutritional value is based on standard tables and therefore an estimated total. No rights can be derived from the information in the nutritional table.