Cold pasta and rice salads are definitely the most popular dishes in summer, but who said you can’t prepare a good baked pasta too? Just turn on the oven during the cooler hours of the day and choose fresh, summery-flavored ingredients, just like basil pesto.
I prepared this baked pesto pasta the other day when I had a jar of pesto left in the fridge, which wouldn’t have been enough to season the pasta for the whole family, some leftover cooked ham, and a bit of fiordilatte. So I thought that, by adding a little béchamel, I could serve a great baked pasta and save the family’s lunch.
Of course, for a vegetarian version, you can omit the cooked ham and maybe add some blanched and diced beans.
Now take a minute to read the recipe and then…let’s cook and eat!!
See also
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients
- 11.3 oz pasta
- 2 cups béchamel
- 7 oz Genoese pesto
- 5.3 oz cooked ham
- 8.8 oz fiordilatte
- 3.5 oz grated Parmesan
Tools
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Pot
- 1 Colander
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Baking Dish
Steps
To prepare the baked pesto pasta, you can freely decide to use store-bought pesto and béchamel or, better yet, homemade ones.
If you opt for homemade béchamel , once it’s ready, transfer it into a bowl, let it cool slightly, add the basil pesto and mix well.
Cut the fiordilatte and cooked ham into chunks.
Cook the pasta al dente, leaving it “undercooked” by a couple of minutes, then drain it well and transfer it into a large bowl.
Add 2/3 of the béchamel to the pasta in the bowl, along with the fiordilatte and cooked ham, and mix to distribute the seasoning evenly.
Finally, add the grated cheese and mix again.
Then take a baking dish and cover its bottom with a few tablespoons of pesto béchamel.
Then transfer the pasta into the baking dish, add a little more béchamel on top, and sprinkle with more grated cheese.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 392°F for 20 minutes, until a nice golden crust forms on top.
Once out of the oven, just bring it to the table still gooey😉.
Storage
The baked pesto pasta can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days in an airtight container. You can then reheat it in the oven, microwave, or in a pan with a small knob of butter.
