Limited on time? This tortellini is easy ‘peas-y’ and people pleasing!

Hiking the Hurricane Falls trail is “breathtaking”

We were spending a week in Tallulah Gorge in north Georgia and boy, this gorge is absolutely stunning! The water was almost teal with a series of waterfalls. Six waterfalls in fact, all in this carved canyon created by the Tallulah River. Nearly 1,000 feet deep and an astonishing two miles long, it’s something to gawk at and be amazed with. The beautiful works of Mother Nature never disappoints.

Now a two and a quarter mile hike has nothing on these boots of mine. But, when most of a hike is a steeply descending journey, you know that the way up is going to be a cardio pumping ascend. Yes, it’s always worth it! The trek made its way down stairs and across an 80 foot high wooden suspension bridge. The bridge stretched across the gorge to only find two sets of staircases, one down and one up. Of course we took the way down knowing that there was only one way out and thats back up. A worthwhile workout indeed!

After this beautiful breathtaking hike and yes it was “breath taking”, I was ready to feed my hungry belly. That cardio climb created quite the appetite. It wasn’t quite dinner time yet and I had an impulse to try the southern staple called “boiled peanuts”. We just happened to pass by a local roadside stand. The curiosity was overpowering and I gave in.

***Yes, they look and sound so strange especially to a northern girl like myself. But oh we***re they addicting and delicious!

An easy “peas-y” dinner tonight

After a belly full of peanuts I knew it was going to be late night dinner by the time that hunger returned. We needed something quick and easy for the evening. So when that hunger struck, I went for tortellini. There’s nothing wrong with boiling some pasta and throwing some jarred sauce on top. Although anyone who knows me, I go for something a tad bit more exciting and satisfying to the taste buds. This night was a cheese tortellini with pancetta and peas kind of night. I reached for the frozen peas and raided the fridge. Inside I found Butoni three cheese tortellini, diced pancetta, arugula and thyme. There you have it, that’s how this dish came to be.

Time to cook

After preparing the tortellini to al dente following the package directions and saving half a cup of cooking liquid to create the sauce, I drained then rinsed the pasta under cold water. This stops the cooking process and then tossed the pasta with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking. After setting that aside, I moved outdoors and fired up my travel grill.

After heating my cast iron pan, I added a small drizzle of oil and sautéed the pancetta for 4-5 minutes, until slightly crisp. Reducing the heat to medium I then added the onion and sautéed 3-4 minutes, until translucent. I tossed in the garlic until it was aromatic, about 30 seconds to 1 minutes. Next I added white wine and simmered for 5 minutes followed with the cream. Stirring as it came back to a simmer, 2-3 minutes. Then I added butter and frozen peas and continued to stir until the butter was melted through.

Finally it was time to make the meal complete. Into the skillet went the al dente tortellini, arugula, Parmesan cheese, and thyme. To reach my desired sauce consistency, I added about a 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of reserved pasta water. Once everything was heated through and the arugula began to wilt it was ready to serve!