Pak choi and hard cheese pasta bake

"Pak choi or Swiss chard have a lovely bitter taste that goes very well with cheese; mix it with pasta, top it with Parmesan and breadcrumbs, some butter, then stick it in the oven... and you'll be 15 minutes from heaven. Make double quantity and the left overs the day after will taste even better!" 

 

Ingredients

• 1 or 2 bunches of Pak choi or Swiss chard (depending on how big they are)
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves
• 500g short pasta (i.e. Tortiglioni, Penne or Fusilli)
• 10g of butter + some more for the baking tray and the crunchy crust
• 20/30g medium/hard cheese in cubes
• grated Parmesan
• breadcrumbs (or old dry bread)
• rock/coarse salt (for the water)
• salt and pepper

Tools

• 26/28cm saucepan with lid
• 5 litres pot
• good kitchen knife and chopping board
• colander
• wooden spoon
• oven
• food processor or grater only - if you have ready-made breadcrumbs
• baking tray

Preparation

• Fill 3/4 of the pot with water and put on medium/high heat  
• Wash thoroughly the Pak choi/Swiss chard and cut it in slices
• Take a large baking tray and coat it with some butter
• If you don't have ready-made breadcrumbs, use the food processor to make them and add a few Parmesan cubes as you mix it
• Put the butter in the pan
• When you are half way through the cooking process, heat up the oven to 200°C (Gas mark 6) on fan + grill (if you have this feature)

Cooking

• When the water boils add 3/5 teaspoons of coarse salt and add the Pak choi/Swiss chard 
• After 10/15 min check the white parts of the vegetable; if they are translucent they are cooked
• Drain the Pak choi/Swiss chard using the colander and set aside
• Put the pan with butter and garlic on medium/high heat
• Fill again 3/4 of the pot with water and put on medium/high heat
• When the garlic has browned a little add the drained Pak choi/Swiss chard and cook for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat
• When the water boils add 3/5 teaspoons of coarse salt
• When the water boils again add the pasta and cook according to the packaging
• When the pasta is ready, drain it using the colander 
• Add the cheese cubes and the pasta into the pan and mix well before covering with the lid
• When the cheese has melted, pour all the pasta into the baking tray and distribute evenly
• Top the pasta with your breadcrumbs/Parmesan mix
• Add a few small pieces of butter on top (6 or 8 scattered around)
• Put in the oven on the second level
• Cook until brown on top

Serving

• Nothing to add, really. Just put it on the plate and enjoy!

Tips

It does take some time, as you have to boil the vegetables first, then the pasta and then put it in the oven, but what can I say, it is worth it! If you are short of time, you can also cook the chard the day before and let it cool down, stick it in a box and put it in the fridge and make the pasta bake the day after. If you make 500g of pasta you can make 5/6 portions out of it and as I said, the day after it will be very tasty, although maybe not as crunchy. It is a perfect lunch box recipe. Just try not to overcook the chard. It's nice when it still retains a bit of resistance when biting it, but it will still taste good even if it falls a bit apart. Also please be aware that the chard will lose 80% of its weight after boiling! When in doubt, just buy more of it. Don't be afraid to press it into the water, it will reduce drastically in size soon after.