As a Foodbuzz Feature Publisher I get emails regularly about fun foodie competitions and contests to participate in. The other day I received an email featuring Barilla’s Tortellini. Sometimes creating a recipe with a Persian twist with some of the products is hard, but this one? This I had to part take in!!! Barilla and I go way back to when I used to live in Italy.

The idea came to me almost instantly. I thought back to the way my mom used to make Tortellini when I lived with her. All I had to do was kick up the recipe a notch to Persianize it as well as make it adaptable to my own diet. This is a super fast recipe. In fact it is so fast that the sauce is ready in five minutes!!! Best of all, it’s light unlike the original version which is made with cream and is a bit heavier on the butter!!I tell ya, this is a perfect meal for two and it truly is fast!!!

Ingredients
8 oz Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 pinch saffron
Salt
White pepper

Fist things first: in a pot bring to boil 4 quarts of water. 

In the mean time, take a pinch of saffron and grind down to a powder form.

In a pan add milk, butter and saffron. Allow for the butter to melt on low heat. Make sure that the milk doesn’t come to a boil. This should take about one minute.  Add some salt and white pepper.  Turn off burner and cover the pan and let it sit.

Once the water has come to a boil, add some salt then add tortellini. Cook for 10 minutes.

Just about one minute before your pasta is ready, warm the sauce on low heat making sure that your milk doesn’t come to a boil.

Drain Tortellini completely once cooked.

Add cooked Tortellini and gently toss in the sauce.

Add all Parmesan for the exception of a couple of pinches. Toss well.

Place tortellini in two plates and top with the remaining Parmesan cheese.

By all means this is a very simple recipe, yet the saffron adds a delicious taste as well as aroma to this dish. I also love the fact that using milk makes it a bit lighter.  I think that I have mentioned here before that I am some what lactose intolerant.  Cow milk and I don’t get along, at all. However, I do OK with butter and cheese. I used lactose free milk for this recipe and it came out great!!