Pasta Bake - Core Recipe
Pasta Bake - think lashings of a cheesy, or tomato and cheesy sauce with perfectly cooked pasta, often with a variety of different ingredients for flavour and texture, and finished off with a crispy cheesy top. Oh yum! Served with a salad and warm fresh garlic bread - dreamy comfort food!
Ingredients
Pasta:
- 200g dried pasta e.g. macaroni, penne, fusilli, rigatoni, orecchiette, ziti, farfalle
- 1½ teaspoons fine salt
For cheesy sauce (if not adding any ingredients additional to the pasta):
-
35g unsalted butter
- 12g/3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 35g plain/all-purpose flour
- 525 ml milk
- 175g - 200g grated cheese/mix of cheese e.g. cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For cheesy sauce (if adding extra ingredients additional to the pasta):
-
40g unsalted butter
- 16g/4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 40g plain/all-purpose flour
- 600ml milk
- 200g – 250g grated cheese/mix of cheese e.g. cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For creamy tomato cheesy sauce (if not adding any ingredients additional to the pasta):
-
35g unsalted butter
- 12g/3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 35g plain/all-purpose flour
- 350ml passata
- 250 ml milk
- 175g - 200g grated cheese/mix of cheese e.g. cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For a creamy tomato cheesy sauce (if adding extra ingredients additional to the pasta):
-
40g unsalted butter
- 16g/4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 40g plain/all-purpose flour
- 400ml passata
- 300 ml milk
- 200g – 250g grated cheese/mix of cheese e.g. cheddar, mozzarella, parmes
-
½ plus ⅛ teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
-
Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
-
Preheat oven to Fan Oven 180°C/200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
-
For the pasta: cook the pasta in salted water according to packet instructions but for 2 minutes less than recommended, usually around 8 – 12 minutes. When the pasta is al dente, drain well.
-
For the sauce: in a medium saucepan melt the butter, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until aromatic. Add the flour and cook for a couple of minutes stirring continuously with a wooden spoon.
-
Add all the milk or passata and milk mix to the butter, garlic and flour and mix vigorously with a balloon whisk until evenly incorporated and there are no lumps. Bring to the boil, reduce the temperature and simmer gently for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring continuously, either with a wooden spoon or the balloon whisk.
-
Mix the cheeses together and stir ¾ of the cheese into the sauce and mix well. Set the remaining cheese aside for the topping.
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Add the freshly ground black pepper (and the sugar, if using) and taste to see if it needs any extra seasoning. If adding salt, start with ⅛ teaspoon and try the sauce again before adding more.
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Stir in any add-ins and the cooked pasta.
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Spoon the pasta and sauce into a buttered ovenproof dish and cover with foil.
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To cook: bake in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes or until hot and bubbling. (If you have prepared the Pasta Bake in advance and you are cooking it straight from the fridge, see Recipe Notes below for timings.)
-
Take out of the oven, remove the foil and sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Put back in the oven, uncovered, for a final 10 - 15 minutes. It is cooked when the cheese has melted and lightly browned and the bake is piping hot throughout.
-
Take out of the oven and sprinkle with herbs such as chopped parsley or shredded basil. Serve with your choice of serving options.(See Recipe Notes).
Recipe Notes
Equipment:
- kitchen scales and measuring spoons
- chopping board and knife
- baking tray
- medium saucepan x 2
- cheese grater
- sieve or colander
- buttered ovenproof dish
Serving options:
- Crisp green salad
- Crisp mixed salad
- Rocket leaves
- Salad dressing e.g. balsamic dressing
- Garlic bread
- Shredded basil leaves or chopped parsley
- Pesto e.g. basil, wild garlic
Cheese:
- You can choose the combination suggested here, or, if you prefer you can use just cheddar cheese or a mix of cheddar and mozzarella or mozzarella and parmesan. Alternatively you could use some gruyere cheese or Red Leicester or any of the cheeses recommended.
Without cheese:
If you want to make this without cheese, add the following ingredients to the sauce and top with a breadcrumb topping:
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
Breadcrumb topping:
- 50g panko breadcrumbs
- 30g butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Mix together thoroughly
- Remove the foil from the pasta 15minutes before the end of cooking (as opposed to 10 minutes) and sprinkle over the pasta before putting back in the oven
Portions:
This really depends on how hungry you are! I find the quantity here is more than sufficient for 4 of us with a salad and garlic bread. However if you have big appetites or are feeding teenage boys you may wish to increase by 50% or even double the quantities. Any left overs warm up really well in the microwave the following day.
Cooking times:
The length of time your Pasta Bake will take to cook will depend on:
- the dish you have used, which in turn will affect the depth of the Pasta Bake
- your oven, and
- how cold the Bake is before going into the oven.
Before adding the cheese, check the centre of the Bake. Sometimes the edges are bubbling and very hot whilst the centre can still be only a little warm. Add the cheese when the centre is hot but not yet boiling/bubbling.
Cooking from the fridge:
If you have prepared this dish in advance, up until the end of point 11, and you are cooking it directly from the fridge, you will need to give it an extra 10 minutes in the oven with the foil. I.e. foil on for 40 minutes, remove foil, top with remaining cheese and continue to cook without the foil for a further 10 - 15 minutes.