Michela’s speedy pasta bake three ways
You can’t go wrong with a pasta bake. Delicious, stress-free and can feed the whole family with a few ingredients and minimal effort. Today, Michela’s dishing out not one, but THREE delicious pasta bake recipes - tomato, crispy bacon and mozzarella, creamy chorizo and mushroom and lemon, tuna, capers and rocket - all packed with scrumptious flavours!
Tomato, crispy bacon, and mozzarella bake
Ingredients
400g pasta shells
1 tin chopped tomatoes
400ml hot chicken stock (or 1 stock cube dissolved in 400ml boiling water)
50g parmesan cheese, grated
50g mozzarella, grated
1 small packet of lardons
150g kale, finely blended in a food processor
Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C, Gas 6.
2. Put the pasta in a large, high-sided, ovenproof dish.
3. Blend the tomatoes and add it to the stock. Stir in half the parmesan cheese then pour this liquid mix over your pasta.
4. Cover with foil and seal tightly then cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven, remove foil, and give the pasta a stir - it should almost be cooked.
6. Top the pasta with the grated mozzarella, remaining parmesan cheese, lardons and blitzed kale and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked, cheese melted and golden.
Chorizo, mushroom and cavolo nero pasta bake
Ingredients
200g mushrooms, sliced
200g chorizo, sliced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
400g penne pasta
800ml hot chicken stock (or 1 chicken stock cube dissolved into 800ml boiling water)
50g parmesan cheese
100ml double cream
100g cavolo nero, finely sliced (or baby spinach)
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 200C.
2 Place the sliced mushrooms and chorizo in a large high sided ovenproof dish. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 10-15 minutes until the mushrooms are soft.
3. Add in the pasta, stock and half the parmesan cheese and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pasta is cooked al dente.
4. Remove from the oven and add the cream, cavolo nero and remaining parmesan cheese. Stir gently and serve.
Lemon, rocket, tuna mascarpone pasta bake
Ingredients
400g fusilli pasta
800ml hot chicken stock (or 1 stock cube dissolved in 800ml boiling water)
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 jar of kalamata olives or 3 tablespoons capers
2 tins tuna
150g mascarpone
150g rocket
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Put the pasta in a large high sided ovenproof dish and add the stock and lemon zest. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes until the pasta is almost cooked
3. Remove from the oven and add the lemon juice, olives or capers and tuna and stir in the mascarpone then return to the oven for 5-10 minutes more.
4. Just before serving, stir through the rocket.