Tortellini With Sausage Pomodoro

Tortellini With Sausage Pomodoro 

I'm sorry for not posting during the last week. I was on vacation camping in a remote area of the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 

My dog Squeeky stands guard at my kitchen tent.

While I was there, I became friends with a couple who were camping next to my site. On Thursday I had them for dinner in my kitchen tent. I made this sauce and served it over rigatoni. It must have been ok because they asked for my recipe.

That wasn't the first time I made this. The first time was an effort to duplicate a sauce I had at a restaurant. One night, not that long ago, I met some friends and ex-coworkers at an Olive Garden for dinner. It was the first time  I went to Olive Garden in many years. I ordered penne pasta with a sausage pomodoro sauce and really liked it. 

A few nights later, I decided to come up with my own version of that sauce. I had some hot bulk Italian sausage and in the freezer I had a big three pound bag of frozen tortellini. When my housemates and I sat down for dinner, I was greeted with a lot of oohs, ah’s and mmm’s. I think they liked it. Out of three pounds of tortellini, we had one cup left.

Olive oil

1 lb. loose hot Italian sausage

5 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

1 large shallot, minced

1-½ tsp. of basil

1 tsp. marjoram

½ tsp. thyme

1 cup red wine

2 cups chicken broth

1 6 oz. can of tomato paste

1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

Sea salt and white pepper

1 handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped

3 lb. frozen cheese tortellini

Preparation

Heat a enameled dutch oven and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the sausage and break it up real good. When the sausage starts to loose its pink color, add the garlic and shallots. Stir that in and add the basil, marjoram and thyme. Let that cook until the sausage is beginning to brown.

Add the wine, bring it to a boil, then add the chicken broth. Let that cook until it reduces by half. Add the tomato paste and stir to dissolve it. Add the can of crushed tomatoes and stir. Bring that to a simmer and cover it for about ten minutes, stirring often.

While that is cooking, put a pot of water on for the tortellini. Now listen Comrade. This is going to be for three pounds of tortellini, so it had better be a big pot with lots of water or you’ll look pretty foolish!. Throw a palmful of sea salt in the water. When the water is boiling vigorously, add the tortellini. When it returns to a boil, let it cook for about five minutes, until all the tortellini is floating and cooked through. Drain the tortellini and place it in a bowl. Drizzle on a little olive oil and gently stir it in.

When the tortellini is ready to serve, stir the chopped basil leaves in the sauce and adjust for salt and pepper. Turn the heat off and stir again.

Serving

Boy, this one is easy to serve. Fill a plate with tortellini. Go ahead, mound it on! Now bury it in the sauce. Sprinkle on some crumbled blue cheese. Now add a big crisp salad, homemade bread and butter and open a bottle of Italian red wine. For dessert, place a platter of sliced watermelon on the table.