Ham & Pineapple Pasta Bake from Two Chubby Cubs is a proper feast – pasta, bacon, ham, pineapple, mozzarella and (optional) cheddar cheese in one-pot! It’s a cinch to throw together and will comfortably make 6 portions – perfect for feeding the kids over a couple of days or so.
Speaking of kids, this recipe threw up one of my life’s little mysteries. My son Will, who loves Hawaiian pizzas, curiously wouldn’t entertain having pineapple in this pasta bake. Go figure. The Cubs, whose fab debut book is wonderfully entertaining, suggest serving this with a light salad on the side to ‘pointedly ignore’, which I did :-).
Recipe: Ham & Pineapple Pasta Bake
Calories: 475 calories per serving
Serves: 6
Book: Two Chubby Cubs – The Cookbook
Prep time: Approx 15 mins
Cooking time: Approx 25 mins
Ingredients:
- 350g dried pasta
- 300g bacon medallions
- 4 thick slices of good ham (cut into chunks)
- 230g pineapple chunks (fresh is better, but you can use pre-cut fruit from a supermarket)
- 750g passata
- 150g mozzarella
- 80g grated extra mature Cheddar cheese for the top (optional)
Cost per portion: Approx £1.43
Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C fan / 400 degrees F / gas mark 6
Cook your pasta according to the packet instructions.
Meanwhile, grill the bacon until it’s cooked – but you want it soft and tasty, not like shoe leather. Once the bacon is cooked, cut into chunks.
Mix the cooked pasta, ham and bacon chunks, pineapple and passata together in a large pan, then tip it into an ovenproof dish.
Dot the bake with chunks of mozzarella, then, if you’re using it, scatter the grated Cheddar over the top. Don’t be tempted to add salt – the bacon will provide plenty of that.
Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes, then finish it off under the grill so the cheese starts bubbling.
Serve with a light salad.
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