Premiere! Spinach & Artichoke Tortellini Bake

In honor of the premiere of america’s next top model (ahem, and of this blog!), I decided to make dinner for a couple of girlfriends. Since Fall is upon us, comfort food was in order. It was easy, super yummy (hello melted cheese, we are engaged), and fed the 3 of us with seconds and lunch for the next day. And it’s vegetarian. Although that means there’s no bacon at all, it was still good. Yay us!

Spinach & Artichoke Tortellini Bake
serves 6 with leftovers / adapted from this recipe.

Here’s what I used:

• 2 pounds of cheese tortellini (i used one pound of spinach & cheese, 1 pound of regular)
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 3 cups of reduced-fat milk
• Fresh whole nutmeg
  
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
  
• 2 10-oz boxes frozen spinach, defrosted according to package directions
• 2 15-oz cans of quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/2 cup part-skim shredded mozza
• 1/2 cup shredded asiago
• 1/2 cup shredded parmigiano reggiano (please not the stuff in the green tub, it’s worth it)
• Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

Here’s what I did:

1. Fill a large pot of water, cover, and put over high heat to boil.
   
2. Preheat broiler.
   
3. Wrap defrosted spinach in paper towels and squeeze the moisture from spinach. Add to a bowl with artichoke hearts.
   
4. Put another large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat and melt the butter.
5. Cook the garlic over medium-low heat for 3-4 min., careful not to burn it.
   
6. Sprinkle flour over the butter and blend with a whisk for about a minute.
   
7. Slowly whisk in milk and raise heat to bring up to a simmer. Season with S, P, & a few grates of nutmeg using a microplane or other grater.
   
8. Heavily salt the boiling pasta water and add tortellini. Cook for about 1 minute less than package directions and drain.
   
9. Once the sauce has thickened a bit (in about 5-7 minutes), add the veggies and stir to coat. Season with S & P again. If sauce gets too thick, add more milk.
10. Add pasta to the sauce, stir to combine, and put it in a huge casserole dish (mine is 3 qt).
    
11. Cover with blended cheeses and broil until slightly browned and is a mass of melty pasta goodness.
    
    

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