Tortellini Filled With Smoked Chicken and Goat Cheese

For Valentine's Day, Jeffrey and I gave each other a shiny fire-engine-red pasta maker.

Our Valentine's night dinner was homemade tortellini.

To make pasta:

3 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the eggs and oil to combine.


In a small bowl, stir together flour and salt. Add the flour and process until the mixture forms a ball.

If the dough feels too sticky, add a bit more flour. The dough should be smooth, elastic, supple - not dry.

Remove the dough from the food processor and cover with plastic wrap; let rest for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature.


In the meantime make the filling:

1 cup finely chopped smoked chicken
scant 1/4 cup onion and chive cream cheese spread
1 to 2 ounces goat cheese
sprinkle of Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

Stir together and set aside.

Divide dough into fourths.


Wrap three pieces in plastic wrap to prevent dough from drying out. Set aside at room temperature. Flatten the remaining piece in a rectangle about the samd width as the pasta machine rollers. Flour the rollers of the pasta machine!

Roll the dough through one time. Fold the rectangle into thirds and feed it through 6 to 8 more times, folding it into a rectangle each time.

Tighten the rollers of the pasta machine one notch and feed through without folding. Repeat, tightening the rollers one notch each time. Repeat the process for the remaining three pieces of dough. Along in there, you may need to dust the rollers with flour to keep the dough moving smoothly through the rollers.

To make tortellini:

Cut circles with a 2-inch round cutter.


Use a pastry brush to lightly moisten the outer edges of the circles with water. Spoon a bit - like not much - of filling in the center of each circle. Fold over and press edges together to seal.


Bring the two pointed ends together and seal. Place on a flour-dusted baking sheet and let dry for 5 to 10 minutes before cooking.


Bring 4 to 6 quarts of water to boil, salt liberally, and add the tortellini. They need to cook only 2 or 3 minutes.

We served ours with a purchased marinara sauce topped with grated Parmesan.



We rounded out the meal with a salad of spring greens, garlic bread, and red wine.