Pasta bake recipe for 4 people, takes only 35 mins; recipe has streaky bacon, pasta, cauliflower, butter, plain flour, milk, dijon mustard, cheddar, roll and salad.
Cauliflower & bacon pasta
Course: Pasta bake
Servings
4
servings
Prep time
15 mins
Ingredients
- Streaky Bacon: 200g streaky bacon
- Milk: 300ml milk
- Cheddar: 140g cheddar, grated
- Pasta: 300g dried pasta
- Butter: 25g butter
- Dijon Mustard: 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Plain Flour: 25g plain flour
- Cauliflower: 1 cauliflower, cut into large florets
- Salad: salad, to serve, (optional)
- Roll: 1 soft wholemeal roll, whizzed to breadcrumbs
Directions
- Heat the grill to high and bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Grill the bacon slices for 5 mins or until crispy, then drain on kitchen paper and cut into small pieces.
- Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Add the cauliflower to the pasta pan for the final 8 mins, so that it is just tender, then drain, reserving 2 tbsp of the cooking water.
- Melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat, then stir in the flour and cook for a couple of mins. Gradually stir in the milk, mixing well between each addition. Bring to a simmer, then cook for a few mins until thickened. Season, add the mustard and half the grated cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Tip the pasta and cauliflower back into the pan along with the reserved cooking water. Stir through the cheese sauce and bacon, then transfer the mix to a baking dish. Mix together the breadcrumbs and remaining cheese, then sprinkle over the pasta. Cook for 5 mins under the grill until browned. Serve with a salad, if you like.
