Three Cheese Pasta Bake

• 25 gplain flour
• 80 gsun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2garlic cloves, crushed
• 500 mlmilk, warmed
• 25 gbutter
• 1 tspDijon mustard
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tbspolive oil (optional drizzle) (optional)
• 150 gmature cheddar, grated
• 125 gmozzarella, shredded
• 50 gParmesan, finely grated
• 400 gpenne (penne or rigatoni)

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional). Bring your widest saucepan of water to the boil. 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. 2Melt 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. 3Stir the garlic, Dijon and sun-dried tomatoes into the béchamel. Simmer gently for 2 minutes, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant.
4. 4Season 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.
5. 5Tip 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. 6Scatter 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. 7Bake 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.

Per serving

kcal

858

protein

42.8g

fibre

6.4g

carbs

97.8g

fat

33.4g