It’s tasty! – Miss J, 2
Pasta is a great basis for a family meal. This simple but delicious bake uses penne in a creamy sauce made right in the tray, so there’s no need to faff with a traditional bechamel sauce. It’s all topped with a crisp, golden topping of breadcrumbs and more cheese.
It makes a huge tray full – enough for 6 or more very hungry people.
Here’s what to do…
Ingredients
- 500g dried penne
- 250g Tenderstem broccoli
- 200ml double cream
- 350ml whole milk
- 330g mature cheese
- 300g cream cheese
- 130g coarse bread crumbs
- salt and pepper
- Big glug of olive oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C (180C fan assisted)
- Cook the penne in plenty of boiling salted water until almost cooked but still firm, then drain and pour into a well greased roasting tray
- Trim the bottom inch off all of the broccoli stems and add to the tray.
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the double cream and milk and pour over the pasta.
- Grate the cheese and sprinkle 200g over the dish but keep the rest to one side.
- Season well and give everything a good mix in the dish.
- In a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs and remaining grated cheese together with a pinch of salt and pepper and sprinkle evenly over the top of the bake.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until a deep golden brown on top.
Serve hot and dish up at the table – I guarantee you’ll be back for seconds.
We tried this last week. Thanks for the recipe :) We added some asparagus to the broccoli and halved the amount. If found that the liquid didn’t quite cover the pasta, so I had to add a extra breadcrumbs on top and cover it with foil to avoid it drying out. It’s good for a quick meal but seems a bit fattening for something that doesn’t have the same luxurious taste as real mac and cheese. I think I could of used semi skimmed or skimmed in place of the full fat as well. :)
OMG, if you can read that comment at all…sorry for the typos. :(
I love this recipe; it looks fantastic and can’t wait to try it out! I have some similar yummy supper recipes on my blog, Dinner Me Happy. I’d love for you to check it out!Alice.
That looks and sounds amazing, I’ll definitely be trying this out, especially as we have some breadcrumbs in the freezer :-)
Very nice – I love cheesy pasta and I love broccoli too. Have never done a cheese sauce with cream cheese before – just the usual bechemel way. Sounds lovely! x
Thanks for sharing this easy to do dish. The photo is really pretty too.
Best,
Amie
Sounds (and looks) delicious! I’ll be trying this out for sure. How does the sauce do for thickening? I always find bechemel sauce thickens up too much in the oven.
I find that too – this sauce is pretty much perfect as it comes together in the oven rather than being pre-cooked and then over cooking :)
Love this! It’s looks yummy and sounds so easy. I have some asparagus in my fridge this week so think I will try this with that instead of broccoli!
Ooh this sounds just my cup of tea! We often have something similar to this using condensed mushroom soup as a base. (am such a cheat when it comes to cooking!)