No we haven’t gone crazy, and we might never convert the Hawaiian pizza haters, but the fruity freshness of the pineapple really works here and balances any acidity from the tomatoes.
It's a controversial flavour combination, one that really splits a crowd, but try ham and pineapple in a pasta bake, and see what you think! We personally love it, and since it's ready in 30min, it makes for the perfect midweek meal with a twist.
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Yields:
4 serving(s)
Total Time:
30 mins
Cal/Serv:
538
Ingredients
300g
spirali, amori or fusilli pasta
1Tbsp.
olive oil
1
red onion, finely chopped
1
garlic clove, crushed
11/2Tbsp.
fresh oregano leaves, chopped, or use 11/2tsp dried
1/4
-1/2tsp dried chilli flakes
200ml
passata
400g
tin chopped tomatoes
150g
shredded ham hock
125g
prepared pineapple, finely chopped
50g
pitted black olives
125g
ball mozzarella, chopped
75g
mature Cheddar, coarsely grated
Directions
Step 1Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook pasta according to pack instructions, until al dente. Drain. Preheat oven to 220ºC (200ºC fan) mark 7.
Step 2Meanwhile heat oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat and fry onion for 5min, until softened. Stir in garlic, oregano and chilli flakes; fry for 1min. Turn up heat and add passata, chopped tomatoes and some seasoning. Bring to the boil and bubble for 5min.
Step 3Add drained pasta, ham hock, pineapple, olives and half the mozzarella; mix. Empty into an ovenproof serving dish and scatter over the remaining mozzarella and Cheddar. Cook in oven for 15min until piping hot. Serve.
No ham hock? Use cooked bacon, cooked sausages or cooked veggie sausages instead.
No mozzarella? Use more grated Cheddar instead or gruyere.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
