First of all, what the heck is “tortellacci?”

A tortellacci is a sheet of pasta folded around cheese, spinach, meat, seasonings etc. Bascially, a tortellacci just a bigger tortelloni, which is really just a bigger tortellini. (A SUPER SIZED tortelloni).
 The term “torte” comes from  torta , which means “cake” or “round bread.” The Italian suffix -ini translates to “little,” -oni to “big,” and -acci to “roughly made.” 
A tortellacci is not a roughly made cake, but a roughly made pasta pocket.

Great. So, now, why “wedding soup” or “wedding?”

The term wedding soup comes from a mistranslation of the Italian language phrase minestra maritata (‘married soup’), which is a reference to the flavor produced by the combination or “marriage” of greens and the meat. The minestra maritata recipe is also prepared by the families of Lazio and Campania. Some form of minestra maritata was long popular in Toledo, Spain, before pasta became an affordable commodity to most Spaniards.

And, finally, what the heck is besciamella?
Essentially, “besciamella” is the Italian term for French – mother sauce: béchamel sauce.

Béchamel sauce is a sauce traditionally made from a white roux and milk. Béchamel may also be referred to as besciamella, besamel, or white sauce. French, Italian ,and Greek bechamel sauce recipes include salt and nutmeg as a seasoning base. Béchamel sauce is one of the “mother sauces” of French cuisine.
When we add a touch of gruyere cheese, the sauce becomes a Mornay Sauce, which is a somewhat richer version.

So, what is Italian Wedding Tortellacci Besciamella?

Thank you for your patience.

Italian Wedding Tortellacci Besciamella is a delight of homemade pasta squares, filled with whipped, herbed cream cheese, and then sauced and baked with a besciamella- Mornay Italian wedding meat sauce.

Italian Wedding Tortellacci Besciamella

1 pkg. wonton skins
16 oz. herbed whipped cream cheese

1/2 lb. ground sweet Italian pork sausage
1/2 lb. ground beef
sea salt and pepper
1 tsp. ground dried oregano
1 tsp. ground dried parsley

8 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. all purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
8 oz. gruyere cheese, chopped
freshly ground pepper

fresh rosemary, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Lay out the wonton skins (2-3 three stacked for greater density) and spread 1 Tbs. herbed cream cheese in the center of each wonton pasta square.

Dab the edges with water and fold into a triangle and then twist to form a “tortellacci” – crescent moon – shape.

Place the pasta pouches into a square or rectangular baking dish. Set aside.

In a large pot, brown the meats, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Add the herbs and break apart all meat pieces with the back of a spoon.
Transfer cooked and seasoned meat to a medium bowl.

Next, melt the butter over low heat.
Stir in the flour and whisk (DO NOT IGNORE – KEEP YOUR EYES AND HANDS ON THE ROUX AT ALL TIMES TO PREVENT BURNING) until well combined.
Add the milk and continue to whisk until smooth.
Season with freshly ground pepper.
Stir in the cheese and whisk until well combined.
Stir in the cooked meat mixture.

Pour the creamy meat Mornay Sauce over the pasta pockets and bake for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly brown.

Remove from oven and cool before topping with fresh parsley and scooping up to serve!