Greek Yogurt Semolina Tortellini

Step 1

Pour the semolina flour onto a work surface, and add the salt, stirring a bit with your fingers to combine.

Step 2

Make a well in the center of the flour.

Step 3

Pour a couple of tablespoons of water into the well, and begin incorporating the flour into the water. Continue adding water until you've incorporated almost all of the flour. Knead any remaining flour in, and continue kneading for about 5 minutes, until supple and smooth. Set aside to rest (wrapped in plastic or in a plastic bag) for at least 20 minutes (and up to 1 day).

Step 4

Roll out using a pasta machine, allowing rolled-out pasta to rest on a sheet tray (lightly dusted with semolina), covered under a towel. Cut into desired shape. Plain, unfilled pasta cooks in well-salted boiling water in 60-90 seconds.

Step 5

Combine the yogurt, pecorino, egg yolks, and pepper. Stir vigorously.

Step 6

Using a circle cutter, cut 1-3/4" or larger rounds from your pasta dough, setting aside any scraps under a damp cloth (these can be run through your pasta machine again).

Step 7

Put a very small dollop of filling in the center of each round. Moisten the edges of the pasta, and fold it in half, crimping the edges closed with your fingers. Make a dimple in the flat edge of the half-round you just created, and pull the two corners around to meet each other, crimping them together.

Step 8

Place completed tortellinis on a sheet tray dusted with semolina (to prevent sticking). At this point, tortellini can be flash frozen or cooked right away. 90 seconds in rapidly boiling water is plenty, unless they're frozen, in which case 2 minutes should be about right.

Step 9

Serve with a little butter and black pepper. Or if you're feeling really decadent, with a sprinkling of truffle salt. You could also serve these in broth (the traditional Italian preparation) or cold on toothpicks (the traditional Donna Reed preparation).