Ham, Broccoli & Bacon Pasta Bake

This is such an easy, cheap pasta bake recipe that uses every day ingredients, can be prepared in advance and has all the elements of a well balanced meal. It can be served all by itself or with a side salad and is great for using up leftover gammon or even substitute leftover chicken or pork. For other quick pasta recipes click here. This recipe serves 4 but can be easily adjusted to serve more as exact quantities of ingredients are not important for it to work.

Ingredients:

250g whole wheat dry pasta
Approx 1/2 head broccoli, chopped into bite sized florets (I chop the stalks and add them in too)
3 rashers back bacon (6 if using streaky), chopped into 1cm squares
3-4 slices of thick cut ham or gammon, chopped into cubes- here’s my Ultimate Baked Ham Recipe, far cheaper to bake your own than buy the sliced packs!!
Large knob of butter
1 table spoon of plain flour
200ml milk (approx)
2 balls mozzarella, sliced (the really cheap ones are perfect- 50p at Tesco)

Method:

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions minus 1 minute. For whole wheat pasta, I would normally cook for 10 minutes but for this recipe only 9 as it will cook again when baked in the oven
Chuck the broccoli into the pasta or place in a steamer on top for the final 5 minutes of cooking
Drain the pasta/ broccoli and set to one side
Mean while, melt the butter in a small saucepan on a low heat
Add the flour and keep stirring- don’t panic, it is meant to look like this!
Once the flour and butter are combined into a paste (a roux), add half the milk and keep stirring- don’t panic, the lumps will go, just keep stirring!!!
As the sauce heats up, it will become smooth and begin to thicken, at this point, add the rest of the milk
It might seem to go lumpy again, just keep stirring! You’ve made a basic béchamel sauce.
When the sauce begins to bubble, time for 2 minutes (this ensures the flour is cooked) while continuing to stir
In an oven proof dish, mix the pasta, broccoli, ham and sauce

Top with the slices of mozzarella and bake at 180C for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and everything has warmed through

While it’s baking, fry off the bacon until crispy and drain on kitchen paper
Once assembled, this dish can be left to cool and then baked later. When baking from cold, cover (tin foil or oven-proof lid) and bake for 15 mins then remove cover for a further 5-10 minutes.
Sprinkle over the crispy bacon pieces just before serving