Baked Tortellini

 

 With Bacon. 

Yep....that's what seriously reeled me in with this little gem of a recipe. The bacon. Oh sure...the idea of making tortellini a different way than usual was appealing....but the bacon is what cinched it. 

Bacon. If it wasn't such a "bad" thing, I could easily scarf down a whole pack of nice crispy, greasy bacon. Not at one sitting....but like an all day graze sort of thing. It could so happen without me even realizing it. I mean....each trip through the kitchen (and there are lots of trips through the kitchen) would warrant a sneak-piece of bacon...break off that perfectly crispy piece that's just right, when no ones looking (not even yourself). Next thing you know, you have a paper towel lined plate with bacon crumbs. That you want to lick up. 

Now you understand why when I saw Baked Tortellini with Bacon in my little Everyday Food issue...I just couldn't not make it.

Baked Tortellini with Bacon
Printable Version

4 slices of bacon, sliced into 1/2 length pieces (I think I used more....by accident)
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 cups of milk (a little may be needed to get desired consistency
1 lb of cheese tortellini (or your favorite) not cooked
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Heat your broiler with the rack in the top position.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon down (brown and crisp). Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain (this is the danger zone....wandering fingers are lurking). Toss the onion and garlic into the pan and season with salt and pepper. Saute until the onion is soft. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.

While whisking, slowly add the milk. Add the tortellini

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and cook until liquid has thickened, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat....add the bacon and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine.

Now....if you have this going on in a cast iron skillet (like I did), you can leave it in there. If not, you'll want to transfer it to a broiler proof baking dish. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and place in the broiler for about 3 - 5 minutes or until golden brown.

I seriously enjoyed this. Everything about it. The flavors, the sauce, the texture. The cheese...and yeah....that bacon! This recipe is a winner in my book.

Speaking of winner....there's still time to enter my most recent GIVAWAY and win yourself a fabulous cookbook and 3 boxes of cookies from Tate's Bake Shop...AND you can get a discount with the "secret code" should you decide you want to purchase something from Tate's.

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You have until midnight, 12/13/10 to enter. You can enter as many times as you want by sharing on Facebook everyday or singing the twitter tune to all your friends as often as they can stand it