Green Beans And Tortellini

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1 lb raw stringless green beans
• 1 lb tortellini
• 3 quarts water
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon mrs. dash seasoning mix (or 1/4 teaspoon other seasoning blend)
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• salt

Recipe

• 1 bring salted water to a boil in large pot.
• 2 wash and inspect beans.
• 3 heat olive oil in a heavy 10 inch frying pan. (i use cast iron.).
• 4 carefully immerse beans in water for no more than 2 minutes.
• 5 do not dump out water; scoop out beans with tongs or strainer into colander.
• 6 run cold water over beans in sink to stop cooking and set aside.
• 7 return water to boil and cook tortellini according to instructions of package or if you are making fresh tortellini from a recipe, save this step till after beans and sauce are done so that they will be hot and not over cooked.
• 8 while waiting for tortellini to cook add onion and garlic to olive oil, brown slightly and add beans.
• 9 stir frequently; if they need more oil add some of the butter now.
• 10 when beans begin to sizzle remove them, leaving most of the onions and garlic behind, with tongs to covered bowl and keep warm.
• 11 be sure to keep an eye on the tortellini and stir them.
• 12 add the rest of the butter to pan and stir.
• 13 stir in half of the milk lower the heat to medium.
• 14 mix the rest of the milk with corn starch in a cup or jar and set aside for a moment.
• 15 stir half of the cheese, and all of the pepper, and mrs. dash into pan with a whisk.
• 16 stir in the rest of the milk mixture and stir until thickened.
• 17 set heat to low and gradually stir in the rest of the cheese until melted. (now cook pasta if using fresh ones).
• 18 add a little, less that 1/4 cup, of the cooking water from the pasta to the sauce and stir.
• 19 pour sauce into serving container, cover and set aside.
• 20 in a large serving bowl mix cooked tortellini and beans, serve immediately with sauce on the side.