The weather is getting colder and I’ve been making lots of soups, casseroles, and pasta bakes. We love pasta bakes in our family, they’re comforting, filling and delicious. Pasta bakes can also be super convenient as they can be prepared one day ahead, to be cooked in the oven on the next day. This makes life so easy, especially at days when I have work to do and my family are coming over in the evening. There are many types of pasta bakes, but my favorite way to enjoy pasta is with a super creamy white sauce. Imagine, pasta, creamy sauce, and cheese. This is my favorite combination ever!
The Ingredients
To make this pasta bake you’re going to need the following ingredients:
Fish – I used Smoked Haddock from The Saucy Fish Co.Penne pasta (or any other kind of pasta that’s similar in size to penne). + salt and olive oil to cook the pasta.Butter, milk, and cheese (I used cheddar).Onion.All-purpose flour to make the roux.Ground nutmeg, ground black pepper, and salt. You could also add a clove of garlic when making the creamy pasta sauce.Breadcrumbs, dried garlic, herbs, and fresh parsley for garnish.
How to Make Smoked Haddock Pasta Bake
Step 1. Start by cooking the fish. Simply place the frozen fish in the oven bake bag and onto a baking tray, make sure that the fillets are not touching. Bake on 180c for 24 minutes. 2. Once the fish is cooked, it will look like the picture below. It will be pipping hot when you take it out of the oven, handle with care. 3. Pour sauce over fish, this will infuse the fish with gorgeous flavours of mustard, cheddar and chive. 4. Using 2 forks, flake the fish. Set aside. 5. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add a diced onion. On low-medium heat, cook the onion until it comes soft and translucent. Make sure not to burn the butter. 6. Add the flour, this will cause the butter to kind of crumble but that’s okay as that’s exactly what you want. 7. Add whole milk, and using a whisk keep whisking the mixture until it starts to bubble. Add ground nutmeg, black pepper and salt. I also like to add a crushed clove of garlic. Remove from heat, and set aside. 8. Cook the pasta following the cooking instructions provided at the pack. 9. In a large bowl, mix the pasta with the white sauce. It is preferred that you do this while the pasta and the sauce are still hot. The sauce will start to thicken once it starts to cool down. 10. Add the flaked fish to the pasta. 11. Spread the pasta and the fish on a slightly greased oven proof dish. 12. Make the breadcrumb topping by mixing the breadcrumbs with the herbs and dried garlic. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the pasta. 13. Sprinkle with grated cheese, and bake for 20 minutes at 180c. The fish pasta bake is ready when the cheese melts and the breadcrumbs become golden. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve!
Tips on how to make the perfect pasta bake
Always make sure that the oven proof baking dish is greased, as otherwise the pasta might stick to the bottom of the baking dish.Pour the cheddar chive sauce directly over the fish. This will give your pasta bake an amazing flavour!Do not overcook the white sauce. As the milk starts boiling and mixture starts to thicken, remove from heat immediately. Because the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools down.Cook pasta al dente, which means that you have to cook it for 1 minute less than what it says on the package instructions. The pasta will also be cooked again in the oven, and cooking it al dente will help you avoid overcooked pasta that breaks.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
