I posted this pic on instagram and thought it was so pretty and the food was so delicious that I had to share the recipe with you guys, if you can even call it a recipe.
Raise your hand if it’s been hot and muggy where you live this summer. This weekend was especially humid, which for San Diego is a big deal. I didn’t want to turn on any heating elements in the kitchen, but we had this fresh tortellini I was worried about turning the corner. So, tortellini for dinner indeed. The good thing is that the amount of time my stove was on was brief.
Ingredients:
- Tortellini (I prefer cheese tortellini, fresh, not frozen, tricolor)
- Pesto sauce
- Shredded parmesean
- Cherry tomatoes, quartered (mine were so small I just tossed them in whole)
- Chorizo (I used linguiça, a household favorite since we made Choripan a couple of years ago) Pancetta would also be a yummy option, but takes longer to cook
- Lemon
- Salt
- Good quality olive oil
Directions:
Bring water to a boil, and meanwhile begin preheating a small skillet. You’ll want the skillet right at medium heat.
Cook tortellini according to package instructions. Since mine wasn’t frozen, it only took 2 minutes once the water was boiling. I removed from water using a slotted spoon and put directly into our bowls.
Meanwhile, cut up chorizo into small cubes. Throw them into the skillet with a little oil until hot, greasy and yummy. The reason I like using a sausage like chorizo it it’s already cooked or cured, which means cooking it is really low pressure. Just get it up to heat and it’s ready. The meat step and the tortellini step took me about the same amount of time and were ready simultaneously.
Spoon chorizo onto cooked tortellini in bowls. Immediately sprinkle with cheese so it melts.
Spoon one or two hearty spoonfuls of pesto onto each bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, squeeze on lemon juice, and sprinke a little salt.
Toss on a handful of cherry tomatoes.
Since everything I added to the tortellini was cold with the exception of the meat, it brought the temperature of the meal down to a level that was just right for a humid summer evening, while still being hearty for a good dinner.
I know the recipe is kind of basic but maybe you haven’t thought of this combination yet.
Enjoy! I know I did.
My Friend Staci 
This is my kind of meal exactly. I am hungry for it right now. I love cooking with cured sausage not just because of the fear of under-cooking it but also because I know that my meal is going to be super flavorful without me necessarily having to throw in a bunch of spices and hoping they work well together. :P
Also, I’ve recently learned of the glory that occurs when you just squeeze a lemon over almost anything. It just brightens up everything!