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Tortellini and Vegetable Gratin
Introduction from Amy Sheppard
Ready-made tortellini has always been a winner in our house and it’s perfect for busy nights when you don’t have time to do much more than pour some sauce on some quick-cook pasta! This is a great way to turn a single packet of tortellini into a quick, crowd-pleasing bake that will feed the whole family.
Ingredients
Method
Half-fill a non-stick saucepan with boiling water. Add the tortellini and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain and set the tortellini aside.
Return the saucepan to the heat and, when dry, add the butter.
Chop any larger vegetables in half, before adding the mall to the melted butter. Fry for 5 minutes over a medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, preheat the grill (broiler).
Add the flour and paprika to the vegetables and stir over the heat until the flour has been absorbed and the mixture is starting to sizzle. Add half the milk and the dried herbs. Bring it to the boil, stirring, until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken. Repeat this process a couple more times with the remaining milk until it’s all used up.
Stir in the 100g (3½oz) grated cheese and the tortellini. Season with salt and pepper and bring back to the boil.
Pour the mixture into a heatproof dish, ensuring the ingredients are evenly spread.
Mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining grated cheese and scatter over the pasta and veg. Grill (broil) for about 5 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
Serve with salad.
Notes
You can use any 400g (14oz) ready-prepped packs of veg in this; most supermarkets do different combinations.
You can top this with grated mozzarella instead of cheddar for a lovely cheese pull!
If you want to give this a good kick, stir some harissa paste or sriracha into the cheese sauce.
Reviews
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