Sometimes we all need a cheat day, and for me that cheat day pretty much always includes a healthy portion of pasta. Honestly, if I could eat just one food for the rest of my life without putting on any weight- pasta would be it.
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Anyway, pasta bakes are one of my favourite ways to eat pasta, and always popular with the family. Just pop it in the oven and let it cook away while you enjoy your day, and then dig in!
So without any more babbling on from me, here’s my simple sausage pasta bake…
Serves:4 Prep Time: 1 Hour
Ingredients:
- 500 ml Essential Tomato Sauce
- 4 Sausages- I used Cumberland but Lincolnshire work great too
- 300g Fusili Pasta
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 1/2 pint whole milk
- 150g cheddar cheese
- 1tbsp butter
- 50g mozzarella (more if you want)
- 4 slices bread
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Place into a casserole dish.
- In a frying pan, add the sausages and a small dash of oil and cook through. Cut sausage into bite size pieces and brown. Add on top of the pasta in your dish.
- Using your favourite tomato sauce, or my Essential Tomato Sauce recipe- blend together the ingredients for speed and pour over the pasta.
- Make your cheese sauce by melting butter in a pan on medium heat, then stirring in the flour until a thick paste forms. Once you’ve done this add in a small amount of milk and mix until the paste has completely dissolved. Keep adding more milk as the sauce thickens and then add in the cheese. Mix until all is melted and you have a thick, creamy cheese sauce. Season with a little pepper if you like and pour over the pasta mixture.
- Heat your oven to 200C and cover the bake with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile tear up the bread and mix with mozzarella for a crispy topping.
- Take your bake out of the oven and top with the bread and cheese, and grill on high for a few minutes until golden brown and crispy. Enjoy!