creamy shrimp marsala tortellini
Big shrimp, big cheesy tortellini, a pretty big portion of sweet marsala wine sauce to spoon over top the whole affair…what more could I want? Apt for weeknight yet suitable for date night, Creamy Shrimp Marsala Tortellini is a must for your menu this week, and many weeks upcoming.
This narrative has zilch to do with tortellini, so you can skip this paragraph if you want. But today, Monday, I rode my bike outside ALONE for the first time in frick knows how long! I wedged Pittor (my trusty steed) into my trunk and together we braved the trail for an hour spin, within which I had no goal other than to find some stability and confidence and to drink from my hydration pack. By golly, I accomplished both! Generally, my aerobic rides are supposed to stay in my zone 2 heart rate range, and this one certainly whizzed around in every direction like a drunken mud daubber, but by effort alone I felt strong and steady and even smiled and sang a bit! For someone with such a crippling fear and lack of cycling experience, an hour by myself is a big chunk in the scheme of interspersing outdoor riding into my regimen.
Okay, onto dinner. If you rode your bike today or ran or swam or danced naked in the kitchen making this meal, you deserve every bit of this savory shrimp marsala. Or even if you did absolutely nothing but exist, that’s cool, too. It’s truly the easiest thing. Boil some tortellini. Cook down a big stash of mushrooms in butter, then sear the shrimp really quickly before tossing in all your flavor bombs and catalyzing a nuclear explosion of awesome. Shallots, garlic, thyme, broth, and Marsala wine simmer for a bit until you’ve got a pan sauce on your spatula. Add your mushrooms and shrimp back to the pan and tie it up with a bit of milk for creaminess. Thicken that puppy up for a bit. Let the angels sing about how fantastic the dish is.
Moral of today’s unrelated but sort of related diatribe: do things which cause you discomfort. I know, very original soapbox script, but there’s something about singing with joy rather than whimpering with fear. I got to curse the wind plenty, but didn’t shirk away. I got to savor scenery instead of a wall. We’re not going for professional anti-fearist, here. Just for tiny inches of improvement.
Any fears you want to wipe away this year? Let me know! Leave a comment below, too, if you try this Creamy Shrimp Marsala Tortellini, and as always I’m floating about the ole Instagram ready for a chat!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 10-12 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 shallots, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 cup marsala wine
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth or stock
- 1 pound large or jumbo shrimp
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup milk (oat, whole, or heavy cream work)
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 package cheese tortellini
Instructions
- Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and toss in flour. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside on a plate.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain, toss in a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking, cover, and set aside.
- Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Toss mushrooms into the skillet and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms release their liquid and turn a deep golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Remove about 3/4 of the mushrooms from the pan onto a plate.
- Add 1tbsp oil to the skillet. Set shrimp into skillet and cook for 2 minutes on one side, then flip and cook another 2 minutes until pink and firm. Set on plate with the reserved mushrooms. Stir shallots, garlic, and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in marsala wine and broth. Bring to low simmer and cook until liquid reduces by half, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and shrimp back to the cooking liquid. Stir in milk until sauce thickens. Remove pan from heat and stir in tortellini. Taste for salt and pepper. Enjoy!
