Tortellini Tricolore - Culinary Flavors

First of all I want to apologize for not being able to visit you the last couple of days but again my father-in-law is at the hospital and again our everyday routine has become upside down. I will try to follow up this weekend and the following days.

Do you know what desperation means? And I don’t mean the meaning vocabulary gives. For me desperation is when my 8 year old son is hungry and I have nothing attractive to feed him.

I was sitting in front of my laptop the other afternoon and suddenly a little face came in front of me making a very serious statement; ‘Mom, I am very hungry and I want something tasty and less ordinary to eat.’ Well, how about that! One might say that I have a spoiled child. Perhaps, I do, but the last ‘unspoiled’ children I know were the von Trapp children in the ‘Sound of Melody’ lol. Well, mine is not like them, I could say he is totally the opposite. But then again, I don’t have a whistle, I never thought of that. Perhaps, I must get one, what do you think?

Anyway, since I hate winning, I immediately got to the kitchen and tried to make something about that. The result was a very tasty, comforting meal not only for my son, but for all of us as well. In fact we ate the leftovers the next day also. So, here’s the recipe for anyone who has moments like this one or wants a tasty, hearty dish for her/his family.

Tortellini Tricolore

Ingredients
500 gr. 1 lb tortellini filled with cheese
2 cups colored peppers julienned (red, yellow, green and orange)

For the mornay sauce
30 gr. /1 oz margarine
30 gr. /1 oz flour
600 ml/20 fl oz milk, warm
1 egg slightly beaten
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 cup emental cheese

200 ml/7 fl oz crème fraiche

2 cups cauliflower
100 gr. /4 oz mushrooms
4 slices of ham cut in squares
50 gr. /2 oz corn kernels
½ cup parmigiano
Bread crumbs for gratinizing the pasta

Instructions

Boil the tortellini al dente.

Boil the cauliflower al dente as well.

Make the béchamel sauce.

Add the sour cream to the béchamel

Sauté the peppers and mushrooms in a skillet for about 5 minutes until they become tender.

Throw the ham, the peppers, the mushrooms, the corn, the tortellini and the emental to the béchamel and mix until they are all incorporated.

Butter a glass pan and throw this mixture in the pan. Spread the parmigiano and the bread crumbs on top and bake in a preheated oven at 400 F/200 C for half an hour or until a nice golden color is formed on the top.

I am submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights, an idea of Ruth Daniels hosted this week by Three Cookies.

I am linking this to:

Simply Delish
Keep It Simple Sunday
Sunday Spotlight Recipes
Made by You Monday
Make a Food-“e”- Friend Monday
Homemaker Monday
Magnificent Monday
Tuesday Night Supper Club
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Made From Scratch Tuesday