Not just boiling: how to make a hearty and budget-friendly casserole from pasta

No one wants to eat boiled pasta the next day. They dry out and become tasteless. Therefore, for a large family, the best solution is to make a casserole from this product. It is very budget-friendly and takes a minimum of time.

The idea of cooking a hearty pasta casserole was published on the Instagram page of food blogger Ilona with the nickname thefoodhub.by_ilona. The pasta becomes very soft.

Ingredients:

• 250 g of short pasta
• 250 g of cheddar cheese (or other cheese that melts well), grate on a coarse grater
• 4 tbsp of breadcrumbs
• Cut 20 g of cold butter into pieces
• butter for greasing the mold

Ingredients for the bechamel sauce:

• 50 g butter
• 50 g of flour
• 500 ml of milk
• a pinch of nutmeg
• a pinch of allspice
• salt - to taste

Method of preparation:

1. Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente. (Cook for half the time indicated on the package.) Drain and rinse under cold running water.

2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, add flour and spices, fry, stirring occasionally, until flour is golden.

4. Add milk and salt to taste, mix well with the flour and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the sauce thickens.

5. Put the pasta in a deep bowl, add the sauce and 2/3 of the grated cheese. Mix well.

6. Grease the bottom of a refractory baking dish with butter and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of breadcrumbs.

7. Put the pasta in the prepared baking dish, smooth it out and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Sprinkle evenly with breadcrumbs on top. Spread the pieces of cold butter over the surface.

8. Put the pasta casserole in a preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. The top of the casserole should be well browned and the pasta should be softened.

9. Take the casserole out of the oven and serve hot.