Rarely do we make a cream-sauce pasta (for fear of consuming too many calories), but this Tortellini, Peas and Asparagus with Creamy Tarragon Sauce is divine! I sometimes use fat-free half and half and still get great results! Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce and Skillet Baked Ziti are my other favorite indulgent pasta meals! This recipe is originally from one of my favorite cookbooks for dinner ideas: The Best 30-Minute Recipe by Cooks Illustrated. It’s a book that has been around for a long time, but I still reach for it often!
Ingredients needed:
unsalted butter shallots salt and freshly ground pepper garlic dry white wine half and half cream frozen peas fresh tarragon cornstarch asparagus fresh cheese tortellini Parmesan cheese lemon wedges
How to make Tortellini, Peas and Asparagus with Creamy Tarragon Sauce:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post. The first step is making the sauce. Melt the butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the wine and cook until nearly evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the half-and half, peas, tarragon, and dissolved cornstarch mixture and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat, cover, and set aside. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the asparagus and 1 tablespoon salt to the boiling water and cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is tender but still crisp at the center, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the asparagus to a large paper-towel-lined plate and set aside.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, adding the reserved pasta cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce. The pasta water is golden and important and it really does work. Because pasta is cooked in the water, that makes the water starchy and perfect for adding back into the sauce. Don’t forget to save it!
What a wonderful dinner! There are great flavors going on in this pasta dish. Garlic, shallots and tarragon add enough to the sauce to make this a really delicious and easy-to-make meal.
Serve this Tortellini, Peas and Asparagus with Creamy Tarragon Sauce topped with some freshly grated Parmesan and lemon wedges. The lemon adds a little zing to the sauce. Enjoy!
The Best Pasta Recipes:
Pasta with Spring Vegetables Tuscan Chicken Pasta Asiago Chicken Pasta Pasta Pomodoro Tomato Beef Pasta
