Mizmoe

I love pasta bakes, they are simple to prepare and cook, easy to eat and tasty. Have to admit my favourite pasta of the moment (cos it changes according to mood) is macaroni.

1 oz unsalted butter and 2 tsp olive oil
6 oz macaroni (or other pasta shapes)
1 red onion, chopped
1 yellow courgette, chopped
6 oz baby sweetcorn, halved
3 Marmande tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and chopped
1 carton Tomato Frito (or a jar of tomato pasta sauce)
4 oz cooked ham, cut into pieces
3 oz Cheddar cheese - cut into cubes
1 tbsp fresh oregano - chopped
2 large organic eggs
10 oz Bio yoghurt or natural thick Greek yoghurt
3 oz double Gloucester cheese, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius
Lightly butter a deep baking dish

- Cook the pasta in lots of boiling salted water according to pack instructions - or until “al dente”
- Meanwhile, put the butter and oil into a large deep frying pan and sweat the onion, courgette and baby sweetcorn for 3 to 4 minutes
Drain the pasta and add to the vegetables
Stir in the fresh tomatoes, Tomato Frito, ham and finally the cubes of Cheddar and oregano, season to taste
Transfer to the prepared dish, level out the top
Put the eggs and yoghurt into a bowl, whisk until combined, stir in the grated cheese, lightly season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, pour over the pasta and smooth down the top
Bake for 25 minutes or until a light golden brown
Serve with a tomato and basil salad or mixed salad and crusty Spanish bread

125 grams macaroni
4 rashers smoked Wiltshire streaky bacon
50 grams Cheddar cheese
50 grams Red Leicester cheese
50 grams double Gloucester cheese
25 grams unsalted butter
25 grams plain white flour
300 ml semi skimmed milk
White pepper
Freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp English mustard
1 tomato, thinly sliced
2 tbsp breadcrumbs mixed with 2 tbsp finely grated Cheddar cheese

Cook the macaroni according to instructions or until al dente
Place the bacon under a hot grill and cook until crispy
Cut the bacon up and put to one side
Drain the macaroni, add to the sauce with the bacon and cheese
Spoon into a buttered ovenproof dish, sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and cheese and arrange the sliced tomato on top
Place under a hot grill until golden and bubbling

Sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan
Stir in the flour to make a roux – cook for 1 minute
Remove from the heat and gradually add the milk, whisking all the time
Return to the heat and bring up to a simmer, continuing to whisk until the sauce thickens then season with white pepper, a little freshly ground nutmeg and mustard - to taste

I remember my first experience of pasta, Ian (then my brother in law) made it and it was fantastic as he was a natural cook, he made an excellent lemon drizzle cake, the best I had ever tasted until my daughter made one a couple of years ago. This dish has similar ingredients, but Ian’s had been adapted to include some British ingredients, ie Cheddar Cheese, the much maligned “Spam”, bacon bits, thin sausages that had been cooked and skinned, then roughly chopped and condensed tomato soup. When I made the dish I used chopped plum tomatoes instead of the soup. It wasn’t quite as tasty though. Perhaps there was an unknown ingredient in there somewhere.

125 grams macaroni
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 salad onions, finely sliced
60 grams Morel mushrooms, quartered
1 tinned red pepper, diced
90 grams dolcelatte, roughly crumbled
2 tbsp single cream
1 tbsp freshly chopped flat leaf parsley
Sea salt and black pepper
1 egg, beaten
50 grams mozzarella cheese, sliced or torn

Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius
Cook the pasta following instructions
While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently cook the onion, mushrooms and pepper until softened, towards the end add the garlic and stir to combine
Stir in the crumbled dolcelatte, cream, parsley and seasoning, to taste
Add the egg and drained pasta shapes, stir to combine then spoon into a lightly buttered or oiled ovenproof dish
Arrange the mozzarella cheese over the top
Place in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a light golden brown
Serve with a tomato and basil salad and crusty bread

6 oz young Broad beans
6 oz Bacon lardons
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 to 2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves (to taste)
7 fl oz cream
Black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (to taste)
3 to 4 oz Tagliatelle per person

Blanch the broad beans in boiling unsalted water for a few minutes until tender, if the beans are large, skin them
Cook the bacon in the olive oil until it begins to brown, add the garlic and sweat for a few minutes, while stirring
Add the broad beans, toss with the bacon for a minutes or so, then stir in the mint and cream, add pepper to taste
Cook the Tagliatelle in plenty of boiling salted water according to packet instruction, drain and toss with the sauce
Serve with Parmesan (either grated or shavings)