Saturday 8 November 2014

Blue Cheese Pesto Pasta Bake


I’m all about bakes at this time of year. Well, most times of year, really. Some people might be anti-bakes because they take that bit longer than just a regular pan dish, but I love how the flavours develop when you let them mingle in the oven for 20 minutes or so. Plus, it gives you time to tackle most of the washing up! Which is probably not a plus in most people’s books, I realise that now.

This is the second time I’ve made this dish – the first time, I wrote it up on Where Are My Knees – and at the time, I wanted to bake it but didn’t have a baking dish at the time. This time, I made some tweaks and popped it in the oven. It’s really tasty. Full of flavour and full of cheese – what could go wrong? It’s also veggie friendly and packed full of healthy green vegetables, so even though it’s slathered in cheese, it’s nice and good for you.



The recipe is also Weight Watchers friendly. It makes 8 portions, which look small but are surprisingly filling. It’s 9 points a portion, based on serving 8.

Blue Cheese Pesto Pasta Bake

320g Pasta
150g Danish Blue
3 tbsp Pesto
180g Philadelphia Light
4 cloves garlic
2 onions
1 punnet mushrooms
200g spinach
Big bunch of broccoli
150g Mature Cheddar

Serves 8 / 12 Weight Watchers SmartPoints per serving

1. Put your pasta on to boil as per the package instructions.
2. Chop up your broccoli and boil in a separate pan for 7-10 minutes until tender (if you're super organised you could use the same pan as your pasta, just do the broccoli first and then use the same water to do the pasta).


3. Crush the garlic and add to the pan along with chopped onions, mushrooms and cook until soft. If they stick, add a little water or oil.

4. Add a tablespoon of pesto to the pan and stir through.
5. When the vegetables are soft, add the spinach and leave for 1-2 minutes until wilted (popping the lid on will help)


6. Add your Philadelphia and stir well - if it goes lumpy, add a splash of milk.


7. Chop up the blue cheese and toss into the pan, then stir well. It should dissolve into the sauce easily.


8. Add another tablespoon of pesto and stir, then let this simmer away for a little while.


9. Once your broccoli is done, add this to the sauce.


10. Once your pasta has done, drain it, pop it back into the same pan and add a tablespoon of pesto to the pasta alone and stir until it's totally covered.
11. Add the pasta to the sauce, and give everything a good stir.


12. You can either serve at this point, or pour everything into a baking dish, cover with the cheddar I mentioned earlier and bake for 15-20 minutes. Which is what I did. Yuuuum.


This also freezes really well, so make up a big batch and enjoy cheesy tasty comfort food all week. Enjoy!
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4 comments

  1. Ohh this does look good... Anything cheesy and pasta-y floats my boat!! x

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  2. Oh lord this has me drooling!
    Sophie
    X

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  3. Oh, you're a genius, I have blue cheese in the fridge and no idea what to do with it as I don't really like blue cheese.. cooked into things it's fine, though.

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  4. Definitely going on my list for next week!

    ReplyDelete

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