The History of Tortellini:
From Barilla.com:
Legend claims that Tortellini was inspired by the goddess Venus’ navel. An Italian medieval legend tells how Venus and Zeus, weary one night after their involvement in a battle between Bologna and Modena, arrive at a tavern in a small town on the outskirts of Bologna. After eating a hearty dinner and becoming slightly drunk, they decide to share a bedroom. The innkeeper, captivated after watching them, creeps to their room and peeks through the keyhole of the bedroom door. However, all he can see through the keyhole is the naval of Venus. This vision leaves him spellbound – so much so that he immediately rushes to the kitchen and creates a pasta inspired by Venus’ navel…and so was born the Tortellini.
Another legend claims that tortellini were created to look like turtles instead of navels.
In any case, it was most likely created sometime during the Middle Ages in Italy in an effort to encase pasta filling so it would not leak into the cooking water.
Today, tortellini is a traditional pasta of the Bologna region of Italy. It’s often served in broth or with cream or red sauces.
Ingredients needed:
- fresh tortellini
- jarred marinara sauce
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- grated Parmesan cheese
- fresh parsley
How to make Baked Tortellini Casserole:
The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Cook tortellini according to package instructions; drain. Put the pasta back into the pot, and add marinara sauce and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Stir to combine.
Spread the tortellini evenly into the prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
Cover the dish with foil, and bake until the cheese is nice and melted- 20 to 25 minutes. Use the broiler to brown the top a little bit. Sprinkle fresh parsley on top to make it pretty.
Dig a spoon into your baked tortellini casserole and serve!
Pasta is the ultimate comfort food, and this tortellini casserole is no exception. It’s cheesy and wonderful and delicious!
Serve with a good green salad, a hunk of French bread and a favorite red wine (for the adults). And if you like this recipe, you’ll most definitely like my baked spaghetti casserole too. Enjoy!
