Bummer. Forgot to Defrost.

Posted on 9 Apr 2011 | 0 comments

Yesterday afternoon I was supposed to be making steak pies for dinner… mmmmmm…. *sigh*. Forgot to get the steak out of the freezer. It’s 4pm. Wah!

So, as we all do in such situations, I raided the cupboard and fridge for whatever I’d got and invented! Here is my recipe for a simple but luscious work-with-what-you’ve-got pasta bake… and I’m going to call it…

Katy’s Forgot-To-Defrost Aubergine & Pancetta Pasta Bake

(for 4 people so scale for more or less)

Ingredients (measurements are very, very approximate);

Pancetta (100g-ish) – you could also use lardons or chopped up bits of bacon

1 Aubergine

1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes

2 Shallots

Dried Herbs (I used an Italian mix that’s heavy on the Oregano)

Fresh mozzerella (one packet – the type with the ball in water)

Mature Cheddar – grated (you can use whatever cheese you like/have) – I used about 150g but feel free to use more or less as you like.

Parmesan – a good sized chunk was grated to cover the top of the dish

Pasta – whatever shape you like – I used 300g for 4 people

Method (again, very approximate and ad hoc);

Cook the pasta in boiling water for about 8 minutes (timing will depend on the type of pasta you’re using). You don’t want it too soft because it’ll be doing more cooking in the oven later.

Chop up the shallots very finely.

Scoop out the inside of the aubergines and chop all that up finely too (discard the skins).

Fry off the pancetta, shallots and aubergine.

Once the pasta is cooked, plonk it all into a suitable pasta bake dish (I use a rectangle glass dish).

Add the pancetta, shallots, aubergine, tin of chopped tomatoes, dried herbs (good pinch or two) to the dish and mix it all up.

Rip or chop the mozzerella into bitesized morsels and scatter over the dish, sprinkle over the cheddar/cheese and mix them all in.

Finally, grate the parmesan all over the top, this will give a lovely crispy topping.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes at about 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5. When the top is looking golden and it’s all smelling divine – serve and enjoy!

Oh, it went down well in our house with cries of “More! More!”. I’m going to try it again but add more aubergine I think and possibly a second tin of tomatoes. Definitely the kind of dish that you’ll welcome seeing in the fridge the next day when a boring old ham sandwich just won’t cut it.

If you give it a go let me know how it went.

 

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