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!
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.
RickKane
I'm assuredly some sort of corn neophyte but it would have been super useful to actually, you know, describe corn milking.
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.
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.
Hanover cook
7/23/22. Made for paul. Good but not great. Added cherry tomatoes. That was good — add a whole pint next time!
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.
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.
Jim C.
Cooked as directed, it's good. Quick, too. I also doubt the need for added butter. A healthy splash of Vermouth helps if pan starts drying out as tortellini cook. It needs something green and tasty. Sliced spring onions and green beans are candidates...I'll pass on the Kale as a flavor enhancer. I think fresh corn makes a huge difference. I'll try a variation next time with one of those.
abby in mn
Chopped greens at last step, and gorgonzola cheese with last T of butter. 3rd time making and adding these extras was the charm to make once a week in summer.
Sara B
This in incredible. Used prosciutto instead of bacon, added asparagus after the tortellini cooked. Also added Parmesan because why not! Would make again and again.
katti
I LOVE corn, but this didn’t hit for me.
Sandra Warren
I love cheese tortellini so I liked this dish enough, but I don’t think the others in my household thought it good compared to my usual recipe with spinach and burst tomatoes. I cleaned my plate but no one else did. We are famous for our white corn here so we enjoyed that part of it. If I made it again I would like more pieces of bacon, and a lot less pepper. Overall it was a wonderfully easy dish to make, I had all the ingredients at home, so it was worth making once.
Geloni
I’ve done this dish twice. The first time I followed the recipe exactly, and the result was boring. Filling but boring. The second time I added pine nuts and tomatoes. The result was somewhat more interesting, but I’d just as soon move on to a total primavera.
Erin
Not sure if I made this wrong, but it ends up pretty liquidy and it doesn’t coat the pasta well at all. The flavours are nice though, but I’m not sure I’d make it again
Marie
Really liked this recipe. It was quick and flavorful. I added chopped sweet onions about halfway through cooking the bacon. Also added chili oil crunch at the end to spice it up a bit.
Jillian
Delicious. I used 1 C chicken broth and 1/2 C white wine instead of water. Added one sliced zucchini when I put the tortellini in and some shredded kale with the corn. Instead of butter to finish, I drizzled with the extra tablespoon of bacon fat I had when I drained the bacon and rosemary. Finished with a dusting of good quality Parmesan. Amazing!
Rebecca
Delicious. I used 3 ears of corn with a 24 oz pack of tortellini and was happy with the ratio. Served with cherry tomatoes and fresh watermelon on the side. Next time, I might try adding cherry tomatoes to the tortellini, as other reviewers have suggested. A great summer meal.
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