Tortellini is a type of Italian dumpling; these dumplings are versatile and can be served in soup, ragu, or sauteed with a pad of butter on skillet. I love making dumplings from scratch because I can use healthy ingredients for my fillings; I used ricotta cheese and shredded carnival squash for this batch. There are other healthy options such as chopped spinach, parsley, shredded potatoes or sweet potatoes, etc…sky is the limit!

To make tortellini:

Ingredients:

• 100 g of all purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 more egg for the egg wash

Instructions:

• Use a food processor or your hands, break the yolk and mix in the flour until “grainy texture” forms
• Form a dough by squeezing the yolk-n-flour mixture together
• Knead the dough for 3 to 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.
• Once the dough is chilled, break it into few equal parts and roll out each portion into a long strip, about 1/2 inch thick.
• Cut the strip into 1/2 inch cubes, like the size of gnocchi. Roll each cube into a little ball and flatten it into a circular sheet with a rolling pin.
• Scoop about 1/4-teaspoon of filling and place it in the middle of the tortellini wrap. Put some egg wash around the outer edge of the wrap and close up the tortellini.

I made creamy great northern bean sauce with crispy bacon to go with tortellini. The sauce was made with sour cream and Pecorino cheese. When making the sauce, use either low heat or make a double-boiler to prevent sauce from burning.

What do you like in your dumpling fillings?