The beauty of this dish is that you can make many different fillings, try: vegan mince instead of fennel for a meatier texture; adding shredded vegan mozzarella or feta cheese; or, combining with leftover veggies from last night's dinner.
To watch the video recipe, click here.
Ingredients
Tortellini:
– 300g Mushrooms
– 150g Frozen spinach
– 100g Fennel
– 3/4 tsp Salt
– 1/2 tbs Sugar
– 1/4 tsp Black pepper
– 30 egg-free Dumpling skins (gyoza not wonton)
– Fennel sprigs for garnish (optional)
Sugo:
– 500g Pasta sauce (or canned tomatoes – but add more salt)
– 1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs (eg. oregano, basil, thyme)
– 1 tbs Sugar
– 1/4 tsp Salt
– 1/4 tsp Pepper
Equipment
– Mixing bowl for filling
– 1x Saucepan for sauce
– 1x Small pot for tortellini
Method
Tortellini
- Wash the fennel, peel its stalk, and dice finely
- Clean and mince the mushrooms
- Defrost, drain, and cut up the frozen spinach
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large non-stick pan on high flame
- Add the fennel and mushrooms, cook for 2-3 minutes
- Add the spinach, salt, sugar, pepper, and mix well. Set aside in a bowl
- Using a small spoon, scoop some filling into the centre of a dumpling skin
- Dip your fingers into some water, spread it on the perimeter of the skin
- Fold the skin over in half, sealing the edges while pushing out excess air
- Fold the lot in half again, this second fold being parallel to the first
- Bend the tortellini into a loop, with the filled layer on the inside and the sealed edges on the outside
- Press the two ends together and use more water to adhere them
- Repeat for the remaining tortellini
Sugo
- Mix all the ingredients together in a pot
- Turn on a high flame and bring to a boil with the lid on
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
To serve
- Boil about 3-4 cups of water in a medium sized pot
- Add a few pieces of tortellini at a time, and cook until they float
- Drain and serve with the sugo, with an optional sprig of fennel frond as a garnish
Makes 30 pieces
Notes: These tortellini can be made in bulk! After forming the tortellini, freeze in a single layer (try to prevent them bunching together). Once they are frozen solid you can store them in a box or bag in the freezer. To use, pull them apart individually without defrosting, then simply cook them in boiling water just like normal, except they may take a minute or so longer to fully cook.