Shelly's Recipe

PASTA AL FORNO BIANCO

Category: Pasta - Meat

3 cups bechamel sauce
1 pound rigatoni or penne pasta
1 small head of broccoli, washed, and floret's cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup diced cooked ham
1 cup grated swiss cheese
1 cup grated gruyere cheese (or other tasty cheese of choice)

Topping:
3 oz. parmesan, freshly grated
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tbsp olive oil

Blanch the broccoli until tender crisp. Drain well. Heat the bechamel over low heat, and add the swiss and gruyere cheeses. Stir until the cheeses have completely melted. Cook the pasta for three minutes less than the package recommendations. Drain the pasta, and add to the sauce, mixing well.

Fold in the diced ham, and broccoli, and place in an ovenproof dish large enough to hold the pasta mixture. Mix the breadcrumbs with the parmesan and the oil, and sprinkle it over the pasta. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F. oven until bubbly. Let sit 5 minutes and serve. Serves 4-6

Bechamel Sauce
4 tbsp of butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
Salt
White Pepper
Nutmeg

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Once it is completely melted and bubbling, add the flour and mix well with a wooden spoon. Cook for a minute or two until the flour just begins to take on some color. Slowly start adding the milk, whisking continuously to prevent lumps from forming.

Continue to simmer until the sauce begins to thicken, stirring often. Season with a pinch of salt, white pepper and nutmeg.

Set aside until you are ready to use, by pouring the sauce into a glass bowl and covering with a buttered sheet of plastic wrap.