Pasta Bake with Ham and Vegetables — the Leftovers Gratin
Cook the pasta al dente, into a gratin dish with diced ham, peas and blanched broccoli. Pour over a custard of 3 eggs, 3 dl milk, 1 dl cream, salt, nutmeg, cheese on top, bake at 200 °C for 30 minutes. Yesterday's leftovers become today's meal.
The pasta bake is the dish that turns leftover pasta, the last of the ham and the half vegetables in the fridge into a supper everyone likes. It forgives everything: too much, too little, different ingredients. And it is the best make-ahead meal — assembled in the morning, into the oven in the evening.
Ingredients
- 350 g Pasta (penne or macaroni)
- 150 g Ham (diced)
- 200 g Broccoli (in florets)
- 150 g Peas (frozen)
Custard
- 3 pieces Eggs
- 3 dl Milk
- 1 dl Double cream
- 1 tsp Salt
- Pepper
- Nutmeg
- 150 g Gruyère (grated)
- 1 tbsp Butter (for the dish)
Method
- 1
Cook the pasta
Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Cook the pasta in salted water 2 minutes less than the pack says. Add the broccoli for the last 3 minutes and the peas for the last minute. Drain.
- 2
Assemble
Butter the gratin dish. Mix the pasta, vegetables and ham in it and spread evenly.
- 3
Custard
Whisk the eggs with the milk, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg and pour over the pasta. The liquid should come nearly to the top — otherwise the bake is dry.
- 4
Bake
Scatter with the cheese and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes until the custard is set and the cheese golden. Stand 5 minutes, then serve.
Tips
- With yesterday's pasta: simply use 400 g cooked instead of 350 g raw and blanch the vegetables separately for 3 minutes. Leftover bolognese, ratatouille or tomato sauce can go in too — then halve the custard.
- The variations are endless: leek and bacon, spinach and feta, tuna and sweetcorn, courgette and mozzarella, mushrooms and ham. Rule: 300 to 400 g vegetables and 150 g meat or cheese to 350 g pasta.
- Assembled and unbaked, the dish keeps a day in the fridge. Then bake 10 minutes longer. Baked, it keeps three days and reheats in portions.
What can I substitute?
Crumbled feta for the vegetarian version — halve the salt in the custard. Tuna with sweetcorn instead of broccoli is the children's version.
Lighter. With quark the custard is firmer — whisk smooth before adding the milk.
Cook cauliflower with the pasta like broccoli. Fry courgette and leek in butter, wilt spinach and squeeze.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from the ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my pasta bake turn out dry?
Too little custard or baked too long. The pasta absorbs liquid in the oven — the custard must come nearly to the top. And do not cook the pasta fully soft first, or it takes up nothing more in the oven and turns mushy.
Can I freeze pasta bake?
Baked, yes, up to two months, in portions. Reheat from frozen at 180 °C for 25 minutes. The custard stays stable; the vegetables soften a little.
Which pasta for a bake?
Short ones with ridges or tubes: penne, macaroni, rigatoni, fusilli. They hold the custard and cook evenly. Spaghetti and ribbon pasta stick together and cook unevenly.
What goes with a pasta bake?
A green salad or carrot salad — the bake is already pasta, vegetables and protein. Nothing more is needed.
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