Lemon Chicken & Sweet Pea Tortellini

I “heart” Rachael Ray. When her magazine comes in the mail each month, I dig through planning out new recipes. This one comes from the “$10 Spot” section. It’s really inexpensive and is a short list of ingredients for a Rachael recipe.

The chicken by itself is wonderful, but please try the tortellini with it. It takes a couple to get the hang of it, but then they are easy to put together. I hope you like it.



Lemon Chicken & Sweet Pea Tortellini

1 lemon, 1/2 thinly sliced crosswise, 1/2 squeezed into juice
4 chicken leg quarters
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
24 wonton wrappers

Preheat the oven to 425°. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer down the center of a roasting pan. Rub the chicken with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken skin side up on the lemon slices and bake for 35 minutes. Transfer to the broiler and cook until the skin is crisp, about 3 minutes. Drizzle the chicken with the lemon juice.

Meanwhile, using a food processor, mix together the peas, ricotta, 1/2 teaspoon tarragon and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

On a work surface, working with 2 wonton wrappers at a time, spoon a teaspoon of the pea mixture onto the center of each wrapper. Moisten the edges with water and fold the wrapper in half diagonally to form a triangle, pushing out any air pockets and pressing the edges firmly to seal. With the long side of the triangle facing you, fold the top point back toward you, then fold the right and left points to meet it and press all 3 points firmly together, securing with more water.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the tortellini until they float to the top, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tortellini to 4 plates. Divide the chicken and roasted lemon slices among the plates and top with the pan juices. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons tarragon.