tortellini

[ tawr-tl-ee-nee; Italian tawr-tel-lee-nee ]

plural noun

, Italian Cooking.

1. small rounds of pasta, filled, as with a meat or cheese stuffing, and then shaped into rings and boiled: often served in broth or with a sauce.

tortellini

/ ˌtɔːtəˈliːnɪ /

noun

1. pasta cut into small rounds, folded about a filling, and boiled

Usage Note

See zucchini.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tortellini¹

1905–10; < Italian, plural of tortellino, diminutive of tortello stuffed pastry, diminutive (with gender change) of torta cake; torte

Word History and Origins

Origin of tortellini¹

from Italian, diminutive of tortelli a type of pie, ultimately from Late Latin tōrta a round loaf or cake; see torte

Example Sentences

She taught me how to make pasta by hand on a plywood board and how to craft her famous tortellini filled with a traditional Bolognese sauce.

From Salon

Typical dishes include tortellini in broth from the northern Emilia region, spaghetti alla carbonara from central regions around Rome, and pasta alla Norma in Sicily.

From Reuters

Even though you can serve tortellini salad all year round, it feels like the perfect dish for summer.

From Washington Times

Anthony Esposito, the owner of Via Sposito, an Italian restaurant in Old Bridge that serves spaghetti, linguine, penne, tortellini and gnocchi, said that he could only speculate about where the pasta might have come from.

From New York Times

Or, you could combine frozen tortellini, frozen grilled chicken breast strips, jarred roasted red peppers and pesto for a well-balanced dinner.

From Salon

Related Words

• gnocchi
• linguine
• macaroni
• ravioli
• spaghetti