Buddha's Hand – Tortellini with Alfredo and Buddha's Hand sauce

There I was in the local food store, and I spotted a very unusual looking yellow thing.  It was called Buddha's Hand which is intriguing enough.  I bought a small one and then started looking up what to do with it.

Buddha's hand is a citrus – like a lemon – but it doesn't have juice or pulp like a lemon.  It has peel with a citrusy tang that can be zested and used where you would otherwise use lemon – although it has a slightly smoother and less acidic flavour.

In China the Buddha's Hand fruit is a symbol of happiness, longevity and good fortune – all pretty important things!

So I concocted a dish based on other ingredients I had on hand:

Ingredients

Buddha's Hand

Four Cheese Tortellini (store bought)

Alfredo Sauce (also store bought)

Baby Spinach leaves

Finely grated parmesan cheese

Salt

Pepper

Method

I put a large pot of salted water on to boil.  While that was happening I zested one of the fingers of the Buddha's hand.

Once the tortellini were cooked (only takes a minute or two) I drained them and then added them back to the pot with the Alfredo Sauce, Buddha's Hand, Spinach and Parmesan and warmed it until hot.

That's it! Quick, easy and with a subtle lemony flavour.