If you follow my Facebook page, you may have seen that my recipe for Wild Mushroom Truffled Pizza Topped with a Runny Egg won a recipe contest hosted by Cooking Planit and sponsored by Formaggio Cheese! Not only is my recipe now available through Cooking Planit, but I also won some snazzy prizes, including an amazing assortment of Formaggio products. My fridge is now happily filled with cheese, so I will be posting a few cheesy recipes over the coming weeks.
One of the first products I noticed in the basket was Smoked Mozzarella. I’ve had smoked mozzarella in the past and found the flavor to be a bit… overwhelming… so I was interested to see if I could get it to work well in a recipe instead of becoming the only flavor you can taste. But Formaggio’s smoked mozzarella was a pleasant surprise! The smoky flavor is present without being overpowering and works to enhance other flavors instead of covering them up.
I found this recipe for Pasta Rustica with Smoked Mozzarella on Bon Appetit and altered the amounts of the ingredients to fit my taste.
Ingredients:
- 16 oz package frozen cheese tortellini
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 12 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup dry vermouth
- 1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 8 oz smoked mozzarella, cut into small cubes
Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until the onions slightly brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the halved tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the vermouth, parsley, basil, and oregano. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add in the tortellini and toss to coat. Remove from heat and stir in the smoked mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
So this isn’t my prettiest dish but it sure was tasty! The smoked mozzarella melts into the pasta and the herbs bring some freshness to the cheese-heavy dish. The cherry tomatoes break down a bit to make a nice sauce along with the vermouth.
The original recipe calls for olives but I am not a fan so I left them out. My boyfriend added some pitted olives to his serving, and loved how they worked with the other flavors in the dish.
- 16 oz package frozen cheese tortellini
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 12 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup dry vermouth
- 1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 8 oz smoked mozzarella, cut into small cubes
- Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until the onions slightly brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add the halved tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the vermouth, parsley, basil, and oregano. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the tortellini and toss to coat. Remove from heat and stir in the smoked mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
What do you think?