Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Review: Trader Joe's Artichoke Tortellini
Sometimes when you need to make dinner and there's no time to defrost something, pasta is the way to go. And the other night what came to hand first was a bag of Trader Joe's artichoke tortellini that my wife had picked up at the quasi-local branch. Fabulous product, at least to my wife and me. The kids were a little less enthused, although my daughter at least is a big artichoke fan.
The tortellini were packed with filling, and so far as we could tell, it was chopped artichoke without filler. In fact, a couple broke open and ended up turning the water that army green color you get when cooking whole artichokes. The 1 pound package served the four of us with a supplement of thawed shrimp, a few ounces each of butter and olive oil, two cloves of garlic, and the juice of half a lemon. In fact, here's a recipe that you can toss off in about half an hour including prep time:
1 lb. (1 package) Trader Joe's artichoke tortellini
1/2 lb. shelled medium shrimp (thawed if frozen)
2 TB. butter
1 TB. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon
1 tsp. salt
salt and pepper to taste
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Juice the lemon. Peel the garlic cloves and crush with the flat of a chef's knife.
Add 1 tsp. salt to water and then add tortellini. Bring back to boil; they should cook in about 7 minutes. When you put them in the water, take a large fry pan and put it on a high heat. Add the olive oil, let it get hot, then add the garlic. When the cloves turn golden brown, remove them and add the butter, melting it. Let the butter and oil mixture slightly color, add the lemon juice, and remove from heat.
By this time the tortellini should be done. Drain and add them and the shrimp to the pan. Toss, season with salt and plenty of pepper, and serve. 4 servings.
I went prowling through the freezer chest to find the other package I remembered seeing there; unfortunately there was no price sticker. I halfway remember it being under $2 for the bag, but no way to tell at the moment whether that's right.
The tortellini were packed with filling, and so far as we could tell, it was chopped artichoke without filler. In fact, a couple broke open and ended up turning the water that army green color you get when cooking whole artichokes. The 1 pound package served the four of us with a supplement of thawed shrimp, a few ounces each of butter and olive oil, two cloves of garlic, and the juice of half a lemon. In fact, here's a recipe that you can toss off in about half an hour including prep time:
1 lb. (1 package) Trader Joe's artichoke tortellini
1/2 lb. shelled medium shrimp (thawed if frozen)
2 TB. butter
1 TB. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon
1 tsp. salt
salt and pepper to taste
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Juice the lemon. Peel the garlic cloves and crush with the flat of a chef's knife.
Add 1 tsp. salt to water and then add tortellini. Bring back to boil; they should cook in about 7 minutes. When you put them in the water, take a large fry pan and put it on a high heat. Add the olive oil, let it get hot, then add the garlic. When the cloves turn golden brown, remove them and add the butter, melting it. Let the butter and oil mixture slightly color, add the lemon juice, and remove from heat.
By this time the tortellini should be done. Drain and add them and the shrimp to the pan. Toss, season with salt and plenty of pepper, and serve. 4 servings.
I went prowling through the freezer chest to find the other package I remembered seeing there; unfortunately there was no price sticker. I halfway remember it being under $2 for the bag, but no way to tell at the moment whether that's right.
