How To Make The Perfect Tortellini — Joe Bastianich’s Osteria Mozza Recipe (Access Hollywood Live)

First Published: August 14, 2012 11:52 AM EDT Credit: Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption oe Bastianich attends the Fox 2012 Programming Presentation Post-Show Party at Wollman Rink, Central Park on May 14, 2012 in New York CityJoe Bastianich knows a thing or two about great Italian food.

The judge of FOX’s “MasterChef” and author of the new book, “Restaurant Man,” stopped by Access Hollywood Live to share one of his favorite recipes from his restaurant, Osteria Mozza.

TORTELLINI IN BRODO:

Brodo (Broth):

1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil

1 capon (5 to 8 lbs: substitute chicken) cut up

1 large carrot, cut into 1 inch dice

1 spanish yellow onion cut into 1 inch dice

1 celery stalk, cut into 1 inch dice

1 tbsp black peppercorns

2 tsp double concentrated tomato paste

1 tsp kosher salt

Filling:

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 lb pancetta, cut into 1inch pieces

1/4 lb mortadella, cut into 1 inch chunks

3/4 cup whole milk

1/3 cup freshly grated Grana padano

Nutmeg for grating

Fresh pasta sheets

To make the brodo, heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat until it’s almost smoking, about 3 minutes. Add the capon pieces and cook them for about 15 minutes, turning the pieces as they brown.

Remove the capon pieces and wipe out the pot with paper towels. Return the capon pieces to the pot, cover with 4-quarts of water, and heat the water over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble.

Before the water breaks into a full boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer. Skim off and discard any foam that has risen to the top.

Add the carrot, onion, celery, peppercorns, tomato paste, and salt, and cook the brodo at a low simmer for2 hours, skimming off the foam and fat as it rises to the top, until the liquid has reduced by half.

Set a paper coffee filter or a doubled piece of cheesecloth over a large bowl or coffee pot. Use a large ladle or measuring cup to scoop the broth from around the capon pieces and vegetables and pour the broth through the filter or cheesecloth into the bowl.

Discard the chicken and vegetables.

Use the broth immediately or set it aside to cool to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container, and refrigerate it for up to several days.

To make the filling, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chicken tenders and cook them until the undersides are golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Turn the tenders and cook the other sides for about 1 minute, until the chicken just begins to brown.

Reduce the heat to low and add the white wine. Cover the pan and steam the chicken in the wine for 5 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to cook the chicken in the wine for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is glazed and the pan is almost dry.

Turn off the heat, put the pancetta and mortadella in the pot and set it aside until the chicken cools to room temperature.

Transfer the meats to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add 1/2 cup of the milk and puree until the filling is smooth and fluffy. Transfer the filling to a mixing bowl. Add the grana padano and the remaining 1/4 cup of milk and stir with a rubber spatula to combine the ingredients. Use the filling immediately or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to several days.

To make the tortellini, line a baking sheet with kitchen towels and dust the towels lightly with semolina. Dust a flat work surface with flour. Roll the pasta out to the second thinnest setting on a pasta sheeter (7 on a KitchenAid pasta sheeter) and place one sheet on the dusted work surface. Using a 2x4-inch round cookie cutter, press down on the dough gently, just enough to score the dough, to score the entire surface of the sheet.

Put the tortellini filling in a pastry bag. Drop teaspoon of filing into the center of each round.

Beat the egg white with the pastry brush and brush the egg white around each dollop of filling. Use the cutter to cut the pasta in the same place that you scored it. Lift up one of the rounds and fold it to enclose the filing and form a semi-circle.

Press the edges to seal, and use your index finger to press into the filling on the straight side of the semicircle to create a dimple.

Take both ends of the semi-circle and turn them in toward the dimple. Lay the corners on top of one another and press down on them gently to close the half circle. Place the tortellini on the semolina-dusted baking sheet and repeat, closing, the remaining tortellini and repeating with the remaining sheets of pasta and filling.

The tortellini can be cooked immediately or covered with a kitchen towel and refrigerated for up to 4 hours. To freeze, place the baking sheet in the freezer until the tortellini are firm to the touch, then transfer them to sealable plastic bags, dusting off the excess semolina as you transfer the tortellini into the bag, or an airtight container, and place them in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

When you’re ready to serve the tortellini, transfer the capon stock to large saucepan and bring it to a boil over high heat.

Drop the tortellini in the broth and simmer them for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are al dente.

Divide the pasta and brodo evenly among eight pasta bowls.

Grate Grana Padano over each bowl, and serve.

(Recipe courtesy of Osteria Mozza)

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