Baked pasta with ham and peas is an easy and truly delicious main course. Ham and peas (without cream :D) is a classic and timeless combination, and I made this baked pasta thinking of the Easter menu, ideal for family lunch or with friends. Creamy, cheesy, and very tasty, with my light béchamel without butter and flour, baked pasta with ham and peas is quick to prepare and you can even make it in advance, even the day before, to then bake it just before serving, it was a hit at my house!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven, Electric Oven, Air Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 2 cups béchamel
- 10.5 oz pasta
- 8.8 oz peas
- 7 oz cooked ham
- 7 oz scamorza cheese
- 3.5 oz Parmesan cheese
- 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup water
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- to taste nutmeg
Steps
Baked pasta with ham and peas is very easy to prepare. First, pour the oil into a pan and brown the garlic clove, add the peas (fresh or frozen, I used fine frozen ones) and sauté them for a couple of minutes, add salt, pour the water and cook them for about ten minutes until the water dries, remove the garlic.
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water and drain it al dente, keeping some cooking water aside. Prepare the béchamel (or use ready-made), find my lighter recipe HERE.
Put the pasta in a large bowl and add the diced cooked ham, the previously cooked peas, the béchamel, black pepper, nutmeg, grated Parmesan cheese and mix everything (if necessary, add some of the cooking water to make it creamier), then add the diced scamorza cheese.
Transfer the pasta to a baking dish, add a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese and bake it in a preheated oven at 392°F (200°C) for about 20 minutes.
The baked pasta is ready, take it out of the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes:
Baked pasta with ham and peas can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days. You can use any pasta shape you prefer, I chose mezze maniche. You can replace scamorza with mozzarella or any other melting cheese of your choice.
More baked pasta recipes HERE
