Shrimp Tortellini

Ethan comes home in six weeks. I've been meal-planning for the return the way I plan a holiday feast — what to have ready, what to make fresh, the first thing I want to put in front of him the moment he walks through the door. He asked, in his last letter, for gnocchi with brown butter and sage because he's been eating Italian food for two years and gnocchi is, he wrote, "the thing that will make me feel like I'm home and also in Italy simultaneously, which is where I think I need to be for a few days."

My son asked for gnocchi. He asked for something specific and complex and my first response was not "that's a lot of work" but "let me get the best potatoes and make sure I haven't gotten rusty." That's growth. That's the gnocchi from scratch at the request of a missionary, the way love takes requests.

Mason is at the culinary intensive and sends reports. Yesterday he learned to break down a whole duck. He was enthusiastic. He described the duck technique in more detail than I think about it in my own kitchen. He's immersed in a room full of people who take cooking seriously and apparently thriving in that environment in a way he's never thrived in a general school context. His teachers have noticed. One emailed me to ask if Mason had considered culinary school. I said I thought he had. She said, "He should. He's exceptional."

My exceptional son. My son who comes home in two months. My boy coming home in six weeks. The house is about to be full again.

With Ethan’s homecoming on my mind and gnocchi already penciled into the welcome-home menu, I’ve been cooking Italian all month — partly to stay sharp, partly because it keeps me close to where he’s been. This shrimp tortellini has become my weeknight answer to that craving: it’s Italian enough to feel like a love letter, fast enough to make on a Tuesday, and the kind of dish Mason came home from the culinary intensive raving about after his instructor showed the class how properly butchered proteins transform even a simple sauce. It’s not the gnocchi — that’s still coming — but it’s been holding me over beautifully.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb refrigerated or fresh cheese tortellini
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Cook the tortellini. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook tortellini according to package directions until just al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain and set aside.
Season and sear the shrimp. Pat shrimp dry and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter with the olive oil. Add shrimp in a single layer and cook 1—2 minutes per side until pink and just cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add white wine and cook 2—3 minutes, scraping up any browned bits, until reduced by half.
Add cream and tomatoes. Pour in the heavy cream and add the cherry tomatoes. Simmer over medium heat for 4—5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly and the tomatoes begin to soften.
Finish and combine. Stir in the Parmesan until melted and smooth. Add the cooked tortellini and shrimp back to the skillet. Toss gently to coat everything in the sauce, adding a splash of reserved pasta water if needed to loosen. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve. Divide among bowls and top with fresh basil and additional Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Shrimp Tortellini — The Italian Comfort Food I’m Making While I Count Down the Days