Tortellini with Sage-Walnut Butter

This was a great weeknight meal from the latest Food Network Magazine, which was all about Italian food this month. Lots of the pasta dishes were baked but since we're still without an oven (2.5 months and counting!) I pulled several of the stovetop recipes to use for now and this was the first we tried.

I really the balsamic syrup drizzled over top of this. Jason doesn't like any vinegar, really, but especially not balsamic but this had a sweet syrupy taste so don't be scared off if you don't normally like balsamic vinegar. After adding the honey and letting it thicken, it doesn't take anything like vinegar anymore.

My only complaint was that this was a three pot meal. Other than that, it was a great recipe and a good busy weeknight stand-by. Jason really liked it and claimed the leftovers for his lunch tomorrow. Start to finish was about 15 minutes, if you can cook it all at the same time. I used fresh herb chicken tortellini but you could use any stuffed pasta you'd like (ravioli or tortellini) and it would work with dried or fresh.

Tortellini with Sage-Walnut Butter
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
Bay leaf
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup sage leaves
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 pound tortellini, cooked and drained (reserve 1 cup of the pasta water)
Grated parmesan

Combine the balsamic vinegar, honey and bay leaf in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until syrupy, about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat then add the safe leaves and chopped walnuts. Cook 3 minutes. Add 1 cup pasta water and cook until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Toss with the cooked tortellini, some grated parmesan and salt. Drizzle with the balsamic syrup.