Cheeseboard pasta bake

cheddar cheese creamy crunchy dolcelatte ham milk mixed nut mixed nuts nutmeg recipe rigatoni sauce

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Source

Ingredients

500g packet rigatoni

850ml milk

50g butter

50g plain flour

half a nutmeg (or ¼ tsp ready ground)

85g mature cheddar , or other hard cheese

85g dolcelatte or other blue cheese

85g garlic and herb cheese such as Boursin or roulé

200g cooked ham , chopped

85g mixed nut , such as cashews, blanched almonds, and hazelnuts, roughly chopped

a handful of parsley , roughly chopped

Method

To cook the pasta, bring a large pan of water to the boil, add a generous measure of salt and tip in the pasta. Stir once and return to the boil, then boil rapidly for 12 minutes. Preheat the oven to 190C/gas 5/fan 170C.

To make the sauce, pour the milk into a pan and add the butter, flour and plenty of seasoning. Grate in the half nutmeg (or sprinkle in the ready ground). Bring to the boil over a medium heat, whisking all the time until it makes a smooth, creamy sauce.

Drain the pasta and tip it into the sauce. Taste and add extra seasoning if necessary. Stir in the ham and grate in the cheddar, then tip into a shallow ovenproof dish. Dice the remaining cheeses and swirl into the pasta to make cheesy pockets.

Mix the nuts and parsley together, then scatter over the pasta. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the nuts are golden and crunchy and everything is piping hot.