Baked tortellini souffle is the ultimate fancy dish you can serve for a special occasion. Crunchy, creamy, and exquisite, everyone will ask for more. Raise your culinary skills to a higher level and give it a try, it is not that difficult to make.
Course Pasta
Cuisine Italian
Keyword baked tortellini, pasta souffle, tortellini casserole
In a pot of salted boiling water, precook the tortellini for 3 minutes less than what instructed in the package (if their required cooking time is 10 minutes, boil for 7 minutes only)
1 lb tortellini, 1 tablespoon salt
Drain them and immediately mix them with 1 tablespoon of butter to keep them from sticking to each other.
Stir until the butter is melted.
1 tablespoon butter
Making Béchamel: White Roux
Stir for 1 or 2 minutes the flour and the butter in a pan over low heat with a wooden spoon to create a white roux.
2 tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoon flour
Remove from the heat and gradually add the warm milk making sure no lumps are formed.
2 cups milk
Put back on the heat and bring to boil stirring constantly.
Lower the heat and keep stirring, till it reaches the right consistency.
Add salt and nutmeg at the end.
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg, 1 pinch salt
Let the bechamel cool down at room temperature
Preparing the souffle batter
Once the bechamel is at room temperature add the egg yolks one at a time and stir until they are completely combined
4 fresh eggs
Add the heavy cream
⅓ cup heavy cream
Add the parmesan
½ cup freshly grated parmesan
Stir until the batter is homogeneous
Add the tortellini and mix thoroughly
Making and mixing the whipped egg whites
Pour the 4 egg whites into a bowl, make sure they are at room temperature
4 fresh eggs
Whip the egg whites until they form a thick and frosty foam
Pour the egg whites into the souffle batter with the tortellini
Mix very gently to keep the frosting stable
Pour the mix into a souffle baking pan
Bake in a hot oven at 355 F - 180 C for 50 minutes
To make sure the souffle is fully cooked in the center, pierce it with a metal stick and it should come out clean.
Serve hot.
Video
Notes
Make sure the bechamel is at room temperature before you add the egg yolks otherwise the egg will cook
Whip the egg white very firmly and mix it to the other ingredients at the end, very gently to make sure the foam of the egg whites remains firm.
Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature before you whip them. If you have your own farm free-range eggs, they don't need to be stored in the fridge.
Don't open the oven while the souffle is cooking.
To make sure the souffle is fully cooked in the center, pierce it with a metal stick and it should come out clean.
The type of tortellini you use is very important. They cannot be too big as they will be too heavy for the egg whites to sustain them while cooking. Their regular cooking time should be at least 8 to 10 minutes.