Tomato and Cheese Baked Belly Buttons (Tortellini)
photo by Karen Elizabeth
- Ready In:
- 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Serves:
-
4-6
ingredients
- 1 (500 g) package cheese tortellini, fresh
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small zucchini, grated
- 1 small carrot, grated
- 1⁄2 red pepper, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 cups pasta sauce (tomato basil flavor or your favourite)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese, fresh (optional)
- 1 cup pizza cheese, shredded
- fresh parsley (optional) or fresh basil, chopped (optional)
directions
- In large pot of boiling water, cook tortellini until tender but still firm (about 8 min).
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, drain tortellini and return to pot.
- In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat and cook zucchini, carrot, red pepper, oregano and basil, stirring constantly, for 8 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
- Pour in pasta sauce and reserved cooking water and bring to a boil.
- Pour over tortellini and stir well to combine.
- Scrape tortellini mixture into a 10 cup greased casserole dish.
- Dollop the ricotta over tortellini by the tablespoon (if using).
- Sprinkle with pizza cheese.
- Cover and bake in 375F oven for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and tortellini are hot.
- Sprinkle with parsley or basil if using.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
This was really good! DS gobbled it up like a champ, despite his usual dislike of squash. I'd venture to say he never knew it was there! For the adults, the veggies lent a nice sweetness to the sauce. I used portabello and ricotta stuffed pasta I had on hand instead of tortellini, which sort of lost the belly button idea but oh well! I also lightened it up a bit by only using chunks of fresh mozzarella scattered over the top instead of both ricotta and pizza cheese. If you have oven-safe pans this can be pretty close to a one-dish recipe; I made my sauce in a cast iron skillet and thought "why not?" and just mixed in the pasta, threw on the cheese, and chucked the whole thing in the oven! Thanks for posting, Dreamer--I know I will make this again! Made for PRMR.