I have been cooking a really tasty cheese and broccoli pasta bake dish from http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/ for years and everyone in the family loves it.

However, recently my wife challenged me to make it using one pan. Let’s just say I am not usually economical when it comes to using plates, pans, knives etc :).

So this uber tasty, bacon enhanced, one pan pasta bake is the result. You and your guests are going to love it and in the unlikely event there is anything left, it freezes well so your bank account will love it too.

You will be:

1. Getting everything ready.
2. Cooking on the hob.
3. Cooking in the oven.
4. Serving.

You will need:

• Ingredients:
  • 500g of your favourite dried pasta (I used fusilli) –
  • 200g bacon rashers (chopped) –
  • a large brown onion (finely chopped) –
  • 1/2 cup green beans (chopped) –
  • 300g broccoli florets (chopped) –
  • 2 Tbsp salted butter or butter blend –
  • 1/4 cup white plain flour –
  • 2 cups milk (I used skim) –
  • 1 cup PK’s Slow Cooker Chicken Stock –
  • 2 cups cheddar cheese (grated) –
  • a good handful of Parmigiano-Reggiano or parmesan cheese (shaved)
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
  • ground rock salt to taste
  • cracked black peppercorns to taste
  • olive oil spray
•  Equipment:
  • a chopping board
  • a long sharp knife
  • a wooden spoon
  • a large saucepan for the dried pasta
  • a large oven dish that can also be used on the hob

Steps:

Getting everything ready

1. Start cooking the 500g of dried pasta in a large pot of boiling water. I always add a slug of oil and a big dash of table salt to the pasta water. Hey, not a health blog :).
2. Finely chop the large brown onion.
3. Rough chop the:
   1. 200g bacon rashers.
   2. 1/2 cup green beans.
   3. 300g broccoli florets.
4. Grate the 2 cups cheddar cheese.

The first time I cook something I like to get everything together first:

Cooking on the hob

1. Spray a bit of oil in the oven dish, pop it over two of the hob’s burners and turn them on low.
2. Add the 200g of chopped bacon and keep it moving around.
3. After a few minutes add the 2 Tbsp of butter and the chopped brown onion.
4. Keep everything moving until the butter is melted and the onion has started to soften.
5. Add the 1/4 cup white plain flour and mix in.
6. Add the 1 cup of chicken stock and bring to the boil. Keep cooking until the sauce has reduced a bit.
7. Add in the:
   1. 2 cups milk
   2. 2 cups grated cheddar
   3. 1/2 cup chopped green beans
   4. 300g chopped broccoli florets
8. Chuck in the now al dente pasta and mix everything.
9. Sprinkle the top with the breadcrumbs and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Everything is better with bacon:

Mixing in the other ingredients.

 

Mix in the dairy and the greens:

 

Mix in the pasta, sprinkle the breadcrumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano or parmesan cheese:

 

Cooking in the oven

1. Put the oven tray into a preheated fan-forced oven set to 190C and cook for about 20 minutes.
2. You can optionally then use a chef’s torch or the griller to brown the cheese a bit.

Perfection:

Serving

You don’t need anything else other than a glass of your favourite red :).

Enjoy,

PK