Mushroom and thyme pasta bake

Serves - 4–6

You’ll need

• 400g pasta – penne, rigatoni, or fusilli all work well
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 20g butter
• 500g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 150g oyster mushrooms or mixed mushrooms, torn if large
• 1 small onion or 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 500ml milk
• 150ml vegetable stock
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 75g Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated
• 100g mozzarella, torn into small pieces
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Cook the pasta

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the packet suggests. You want it just underdone, because it still has oven business ahead of it.

Drain and set aside.

2. Cook the mushrooms properly

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until they release their moisture and start to colour nicely.

Add the onion or shallots and cook for another 4–5 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute more.

Season well with salt and black pepper.

3. Make the sauce

Sprinkle the flour over the mushroom mixture and stir well for a minute so it loses its raw taste.

Gradually pour in the milk, stirring as you go, followed by the vegetable stock. Stir in the Dijon mustard and around half of the grated Parmesan.

Let the sauce simmer gently for 4–5 minutes until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

4. Assemble the bake

Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir until everything is well coated. Tip into an ovenproof baking dish.

Scatter over the mozzarella and the remaining Parmesan.

5. Bake

Bake for 20–25 minutes until bubbling around the edges and golden on top. If you want a bit more colour, give it a minute or two under the grill at the end, but keep an eye on it rather than wandering off.

6. Serve

Leave it to sit for 5 minutes before serving. This helps it settle and stops the first person from receiving a lava-based injury.

A couple of helpful notes

- A handful of spinach stirred into the sauce before baking would work very nicely.
- If you want a little more crunch on top, a scattering of breadcrumbs mixed with olive oil and thyme is a very good idea.
- Do not rush the mushrooms. Proper browning is where much of the flavour comes from.