Three Cheese Pasta Bake

Ingredients

• 25g plain flour
• 80g sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 500ml milk, warmed
• 25g butter
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp olive oil (optional drizzle)
• 150g mature cheddar, grated
• 125g mozzarella, shredded
• 50g Parmesan, finely grated
• 400g penne (penne or rigatoni)
• Crusty bread, to serve
• Green salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional). Bring a large pan of water to the boil and salt it generously — it should taste like the sea. This is your only chance to season the pasta itself. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the packet says — you want it firm, with a chalky white core when you bite one, because it will finish cooking in the oven. Drain and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy pan over medium heat, whisk in the flour and cook for a full minute until it smells biscuity — this is the raw-flour taste cooking out. Gradually pour in the warm milk, whisking hard between each addition to keep it glossy and lump-free. Simmer for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickly coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn through leaves a clean line.
3. Whisk the butternut squash purée into the béchamel until completely smooth, then stir in the crushed garlic, Dijon and sun-dried tomatoes. Keep the heat gentle — the garlic only needs 30 seconds in the warm sauce to lose its raw bite and turn fragrant. Don't let it catch on the bottom; burnt garlic turns the whole bake bitter.
4. Season generously with salt and plenty of black pepper. Taste the sauce now — it should taste rich and properly seasoned before the pasta goes near it. A bland béchamel makes a bland bake; adjust now, not at the table.
5. Tip the drained pasta into the sauce and fold through until every piece is glossy and well coated. Transfer to a shallow ovenproof dish and level the top with the back of a spoon.
6. Scatter the cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan over in an even layer, sprinkle with the oregano and, if you want extra browning, drizzle the olive oil over the top — it helps the cheese blister rather than just melt.
7. Bake for 20–25 minutes until the top is bubbling and deeply golden, with crisp edges and a centre that's piping hot when you push a knife in. Rest for 5 minutes so it sets enough to spoon — the cheese should pull in long stretchy strands while the inside stays luxuriously creamy.
8. Spoon the bake straight from the dish, tear the crusty bread alongside for mopping, and pile the green salad onto each plate to cut through the richness.