Skillet Tortellini With Corn and Crispy Rosemary
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 4thick bacon slices, cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick pieces
- 5rosemary sprigs
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- 16 to 20ounces refrigerated cheese or cheese-and-spinach tortellini or tortelloni
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- Black pepper
- Kernels from 4 ears of corn, cobs scraped of their milk and reserved (or use 4 cups frozen and thawed kernels)
Preparation
- Step 1
Place the bacon, 4 of the rosemary sprigs and 1 tablespoon butter in a large (at least 12-inch) nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet. Set over medium-high. When sizzling, cook, stirring often, until the bacon is golden and the rosemary is crisp, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and use a slotted spoon or fish spatula to transfer the bacon and rosemary to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Step 2
Drain all but about ¼ cup bacon fat from the skillet and add the tortellini, arranging it in a single layer. Set over medium heat and cook, without stirring, until browned underneath, 2 to 4 minutes. Add 1½ cups water, the remaining rosemary sprig, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir to combine, scraping up browned bits from the skillet. Cover with a lid or baking sheet and cook until the pasta is tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the corn kernels, corn milk and remaining tablespoon of butter. Stir until the butter melts and glazes the pasta and the corn is warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
Divide pasta among 4 plates or bowls, then top with the bacon. Crumble the fried rosemary needles over the plates by rubbing them between your fingers. Eat right away.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Ubet
Brown bacon in butter? Why? There is plenty of much better tasting fat that will render off the bacon soon enough. When that happens throw in the rosemary sprig. It'll toast up in no time. Use the bacon drippings drained off in step 2 for the corn in step 3. Butter isn't needed at all. In all my born days I have never started browning bacon in anything but a dry pan.
Big Lar
Made this with Benevolent Bacon and added feta, cherry tomatoes and green onions at the end. Super tasty!
RickKane
I'm assuredly some sort of corn neophyte but it would have been super useful to actually, you know, describe corn milking.
Betsy
Super good! I used 2 ears of corn to 12 oz frozen tortellini, and cooked spring onions and garlic after the bacon with some crushed red pepper. Cooked the tortellini as directed (MUST use a nonstick pan), but as it was frozen, it took a few minutes extra. Finally, I added the onions, garlic, bacon, corn, butter, and rosemary all at once and let the flavors meld over low heat for a few minutes.
Renee
Will be making this again with a few modifications. I used a 16oz container of cheese tortellini (recipe calls for 16-20), and the 4 ears was an insane of amount of corn by comparison! Will cut it back to maybe 2 ears next time. A few mods that I thought added a lot of flavor: cooked some chopped shallots in my butter/bacon fat mixture that I added back in later. Also added some white wine to deglaze my pot after browning the tortellini. Topped with fresh torn basil as per other suggestions.
Hanover cook
7/23/22. Made for paul. Good but not great. Added cherry tomatoes. That was good — add a whole pint next time!
ladbroke
Kind of bland! I didn’t use fresh corn tho.
Tanis
I loved this. Used chicken broth instead of water and added fresh, chopped Kale to the last few minutes of cooking time. I had frozen corn (4 cups was too much) and I added it with the broth. As we say in our house it's a "once a weeker!" And less dishes for the kids to do.
danvillerose
I plan to try this with the addition of garden tomatoes and some fresh basil and oregano. And maybe Kalamata olives? Might help the blandness noted by another reviewer.
Jenny
I read the comments and made adjustments to add flavor, and it was delicious. My changes: I added some leftover chopped red onion to the bacon, I added cherry tomatoes to the tortellini when it was boiling under the lid, I removed the boiled rosemary sprig (recipe doesn’t say what to do with it, and I added basil as a garnish. Delicious.
Olivia
It's finally corn season here in the northern Midwest so I dusted off this recipe and was reminded that 4 ears of corn is a bit much, even for 24oz of fresh tortellini - will try to remember to reduce to 3 next season. Otherwise it's a winner, delicious and fresh and the perfect late summer pasta. Subbed bacon for prosciutto because I had it on hand, which added to the lightness, but needed to add olive oil to the pan for browning the tortellini.
bee
Did everything as written except when I opened up my package of fresh rosemary it had already gone moldy. Threw a big pinch of crushed rosemary in with the bacon and another big pinch with the pasta and it turned out great regardless. This was really easy and seems super customizable. I think next time I will add some diced jalapeños and fresh garlic, spinach or kale would also be an easy addition. Very quick weeknight meal.
max b.
This is a five star meal given the criteria: time, number of ingredients, etc. This is a quick meal, a “what’s left in the kitchen” meal and for that it’s great. Use chicken stock or veggie stock to boil the tortellini.
Diane
Great recipe to start with. I added a chopped zucchini with the bacon (pre-cooked) and rosemary. I would add something red, such as sun-dried tomatoes or red pepper next time. I added a couple TBs of heavy cream, and used chicken stock instead of water. I could see this recipe for all seasons with different vegetables, such as asparagus and prosciutto for spring, etc., etc…
Leo3
SO Delicious and an easy, perfect summer corn meal.
maddie
i found that 1.5 cups of liquid was too much. chicken stock was a fabulous upgrade though. maybe some fresh lemon juice on top would complement the sweetness from the corn. 🌽
A Bend cook
5 star, 20 minute weeknight meal!! The mechanics of this recipe are amazing, and lended well to substitutions. I used 2 packages of Bertagni brand tortelloni from Whole Foods (one sale, made in Italy, and are insanely delicate yet didn’t fall apart), skipped the bacon and rosemary (didn’t have any) and added peak season cherry tomatoes and finished with fresh basil and Parmesan. The acid of the tomatoes was a nice touch. The basil, corn, tomato combo was stellar.
WildThyme
Made this recipe for a large group and it turned out wonderfully! Fresh corn and bacon elevate the pre-made pasta, while keeping cooking time relatively brief. Try it while corn is still in season!
Mary Ann
Delicious! And quick - it’s a perfect summer dinner. I subbed chicken broth for the water for flavor and will do so again. More fried rosemary is a must because I kept nibbling on it as the dish progressed. Also, I want to see how it saves for a day or two.
MagsNJ
I made this essentially as written with the exception of replacing 1/4 cup of water with wine. It was delicious! I loved the different textures of the tortellini, bacon and corn.
excellent one pan meal
Didn’t add any butter but didn’t drain any bacon fat. Added red pepper, garlic, fresh basil and onion. Used chicken broth instead of water. Will definitely make again.
Yael T
I’ve done this twice with turkey bacon substituted. I think it works well with twice the butter, half the corn, and half the pepper. For a 20oz package of tortellini, I used almost 2 cups of water. Everything else the same as the recipe.
Anne
I cooked this with a 9oz package of tortellini, no butter (per other cooks suggestion), 3 heads of sage leaves from my garden instead of rosemary, and adding sliced green beans half way during tortellini cooking. Only about a cup of thawed frozen corn, and a cup of homemade chicken stock instead of water. Sage crumbled nicely after frying in bacon and drying on towel. I might add even more of it next time for more flavor (and it was prolific this year).
Merrill
Ali Slagle always comes up with great recipes that can be easily altered. I subbed ham bits for the bacon and browned them with some onions and mushrooms in the first step. Added some asparagus I’d roasted the night before, along with Kalamata olives, as another commenter suggested. A delicious, quick, flexible recipe. The corn made it special somehow.
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