Post-practice bakes

by MICHELLE VOLLEMAERE
Some people do not photograph well. They may have great personalities, or other admirable qualities, but they are
just not what you’d call model material.

Pasta bakes are like that. They are hearty and filling, the ultimate in comfort food, but they are just not sexy. So, straight up, I apologise if the photo of my Bacon and Broccoli Pasta Bake
looks less than inviting.
I can assure you it definitely tastes way better than it looks. For the record, I haven’t even tried to photograph my Salmon and Lemon Pepper version — but it too has many redeeming featuresto compensate for its lack of visual appeal.
The winter sports season is now upon us. In our house it is all about college rugby. My husband coaches, my son plays, and me? Well, in anticipation of all the joys of washing their muddy, sweaty, stinky jerseys, shorts and socks, I don gumboots, hat and scarf
and stand on the sideline shouting encouragement.
And I feed them.
With all that rugby commitment, virtually every weekday evening
someone is coming home from practice, wet and cold and HUNGRY. And
this is where the good-old homely pasta bake comes
into its own and ticks all the boxes. We call it post practice
pasta. Nobody cares what it looks like, just that it tastes good,
fills them up and warms them from the inside out.
These recipes fit the bill. They are both basically just variations
on macaroni cheese — just pasta shapes and white sauce with added
extras mixed together and baked in the oven for 30-40 minutes. You can even make a gluten-free version.
They can be made hours earlier and cooked ready to serve when your
players walk in the door or, preferably, out of the shower. They can be cooked in advance and frozen until you need them, and leftovers taste good hot or cold.
So, post-practice pasta bakes are a winter winner and I’m hoping your sports team will be too.
Recipes
For each of these recipes you will need a basic white sauce and two cups of cooked pasta shapes, elbows, spirals and bowties are all perfect for this.
For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free pasta and try potato flour in the white sauce.
Basic white sauce
This is a quick and easy version, all cooked in one pot, not the fussy version real chefs use. I think it works just as well. The key is to stir it constantly.
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups milk
Pinch of salt and pepper
Put all the ingredients into a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring the whole time.

When it begins to simmer, keep stirring and lower the heat to the lowest setting.
Stir for about 2-3 minutes to make sure the flour has cooked properly and that’s it.
Take off the heat.

Bacon and Broccoli Pasta Bake
For maximum efficiency I always prepare the ingredients in a specific order so everything is ready at virtually the same time. You don’t have to.
2 cups pasta shapes
1 portion of white sauce
½ head of broccoli
100gm approx of bacon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp mustard powder
1 cup grated tasty cheese
Optional topping
Breadcrumbs
extra grated cheese
extra nutmeg

Start the water boiling for the pasta and turn oven to 180C.
Chop the broccoli into bite-sized florets. Chop the bacon into small pieces. Grate the cheese.
Fry the bacon until crispy.
Add the pasta and salt to the boiling water and cook for 7-10 minutes.
Start making the white sauce. Add nutmeg and mustard powder to your basic mix. Stir. Stir. Stir.
When pasta has 3 minutes to go, drop the broccoli florets into the pasta pan and put a lid on to bring it back to the boil quickly. Watch that it doesn’t boil over.
Take sauce off the heat and stir in the cheese. The heat of the sauce will melt the cheese so there is no need to return it to the heat.
Drain the cooked pasta and broccoli into a large bowl. Add the cooked bacon and the cheese sauce and mix everything together gently.
Tip into an oven dish and top with breadcrumbs and a scattering of extra cheese and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
Bake in the 180C oven for about 40 minutes.

Add lemon zest and juice and cracked pepper to the white sauce for a tangy taste.
2 cups pasta shapes
1 portion of white sauce
2 tins of salmon, 210gm
Butter for frying
1 lemon
Cracked pepper
2 TBsp chopped parsley
1 small leek (optional)
Optional topping
Breadcrumbs
grated cheese

Start the water boiling for the pasta and turn oven to 180C.
Wash the leek and slice thinly and sauté gently in the butter. Do not let it brown.
Drain the salmon but reserve the liquid to use in the white sauce. Remove and discard all the skin. The bones are a good sauce of calcium so leave them in unless, of course, your family won’t eat them. Break up the fish into large chunks. Don’t be too fussy here as it will fall apart when you mix it with the other ingredients.
Add the pasta and salt to the boiling water and cook for 7-10 minutes.
Grate the zest of the lemon using the fine side of the grater and squeeze the juice from one half.
Start making the white sauce. Use the reserved salmon juice and make the liquid up to 2 cups with the milk. Stir. Stir. Stir.

Take sauce off the heat, cool for a few minutes and then add the lemon juice and zest and cracked pepper stirring briskly. Don’t panic if it curdles a bit, just keep stirring until it is all mixed in.
Gently mix the cooked pasta, the salmon, the leek, the white sauce and the parsley together.
Tip into an oven dish and top with breadcrumbs and a scattering of cheese.
Bake in the 180C oven for about 40 minutes.