Cheesy Tortellini Spinach Bake

• porciones: 4-6

Ingredientes

1 (12-ounce) container cheese or cheese and spinach tortellini

4 ounces bacon or pancetta (see Tip)

3 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

⅙ teaspoon black pepper

1½ teaspoons dried basil

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more if you prefer a spicier dish)

1 medium lemon

2 cups roughly chopped, loosely packed fresh spinach

¾ cup grated mozzarella cheese, divided

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Instrucciones

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to package directions.

2. Cook bacon or pancetta in a medium-sized skillet on medium-high heat until crisp. Remove from pan and set on paper towels to drain. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in pan and discard the rest. Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute. Add flour to pan and whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

3. While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest the lemon. After zesting the lemon, cut it in half and juice it. Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce. Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Drain tortellini and return to stockpot. Reserve I tablespoon cooked bacon and add the rest to pasta mixture. Add spinach, ½ cup mozza- rella cheese, and ½ cup Parmesan cheese. Add sauce and gently stir to combine. Place pasta mixture in an 8 x 8-inch or a 9 x 9-inch baking dish and top with remaining cheeses and crumbled bacon.

5. Cover pan with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake an ad- ditional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes before serving

Notas

• Quick and Easy « Vegetarian (see Tip)

ROLLOVERS Parmesan cheese Spinach

TIP: For a vegetarian meal, omit bacon and substitute 2 tablespoons melted butter in place of bacon drip- pings to make the sauce instead