Name: Tortellini Panna e Prosciutto
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 500 g fresh meat or cheese filled tortellini; 30 g butter; 150 g cooked ham, diced; 250 ml double cream; 60 g grated Parmesan; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg; ½ tsp black pepper; 100 g frozen peas

Tortellini Panna e Prosciutto

Fresh tortellini tossed in a sauce of cream, ham and Parmesan, a quick dinner ready in 20 minutes.

20 min total Serves 4 servings Easy

Make Ahead and Storage

Best fresh.

Making Tortellini Panna e Prosciutto

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Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium heat and fry the ham for 2 minutes.
Add the cream, nutmeg and pepper and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the peas.
Boil the tortellini in lightly salted water for 3 minutes until they float.
Lift them into the sauce with a slotted spoon, add the Parmesan and toss gently for 1 minute.

A Few Pointers

Lift the pasta into the sauce with a slotted spoon.
Do not boil the cream hard.
Taste before adding salt.

Some Background

Panna e prosciutto means cream and ham, and it describes the sauce in three words. It is the quick way to dress tortellini, a sauce that takes the same time as the pasta and leaves you only one pan to wash.

Use fresh filled tortellini from the chilled shelf, which cook in about 3 minutes. Dice the ham and fry it briefly in butter to bring out its flavour, then add the cream and simmer for 2 minutes until it coats a spoon. Do not boil the cream hard, because it can split and turn greasy. A pinch of nutmeg and black pepper are the only seasoning needed.

Boil the tortellini in lightly salted water until they float, then lift them straight into the sauce with a slotted spoon so some of the water comes along. Add the Parmesan and toss gently, as the filled pasta is delicate. Taste before salting, because the ham and cheese both add salt. Peas are a common addition.

Serving Ideas

Green salad · Dry white wine · Garlic bread

If You're Missing Something

In a sauce, full-fat crème fraîche can usually take the place of the double cream; single cream is thinner and more likely to split if it boils, so keep it below a simmer.