large pot to boil the tortellini (approx 6 quart/6 litres)
largish frying pan approx 12 inches across and is 2 inches high (30cm x 5cm)
Ingredients
16oz(450 grams) tortellini (fresh or frozen)
3tablespoons(42 grams) unsalted butter
2 ½oz(70 grams) ham, coarsely chopped
1cupheavy cream
Pinchsalt
½teaspoonfreshly ground pepper
1 ½cups(4oz /115 grams)finely grated Parmesan
1 ½cupsfrozen peas
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. When boiling, add tortellini and cook according to package instructions. The tortellini I use take 8-10 minutes.
Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat and saute ham for 30 seconds. You don’t need to brown the ham but the gentle saute will bring out the hammy flavor.
Add cream, salt and pepper and simmer for 1 minute. Don’t over reduce at this stage. The sauce will thicken with the Parmesan cheese and then the tortellini will release starch to thicken the sauce further.
Stir in Parmesan cheese and peas and heat through until the peas are defrosted. Remove the pan from the heat until the tortellini are ready.
Drain tortellini when cooked, reserving a little of the cooking water.
Return the frying pan to the stove over medium heat and stir in the tortellini. Stir to combine and until thoroughly coated in the sauce. The sauce will thicken a little more once the pasta is added. If it is too thick add a splash of reserved cooking water.
Serve with a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
Tips for success
Use hot tap water to fill the pot it will boil much quicker. In fact, I sometimes boil water in the electric kettle and pour that into the pot for boiling the pasta.
Make the sauce while waiting for the pasta to cook then set it aside.
Add cooked tortellini to the sauce and heat gently so that the sauce thickens a little and all the flavors amalgamate.