You'll need to set aside 20 minutes before you start this pasta bake recipe to let the dried wild mushrooms soak and to infuse the milk with the onion, bayleaf and peppercorns, but you'll be rewarded with a wonderful sauce.
The leeks will need to be cooked for 20 minutes until they're soft and falling apart - add them to the mushroom sauce and you have the ultimate comfort food recipe.
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Yields:
6
Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
35 mins
Total Time:
55 mins
Cal/Serv:
396
Ingredients
750ml
(1¼ pints) semi-skimmed milk
A slice of onion
1
bay leaf
4
black peppercorns
15g
(½oz) dried wild mushrooms
50g
(2oz) butter
2
medium leeks, thinly sliced
250g
(9oz) button mushrooms, halved
40g
(1½oz) plain flour
300g
(11oz) dried farfalle pasta
2tsp.
wholegrain mustard
1Tbsp.
fresh oregano leaves
125g
mozzarella ball, torn into pieces
15g
(½oz) parmesan, grated
Directions
Step 1
Put the milk, onion, bay leaf and peppercorns in a pan and bring to just under the boil. Set aside for 20min to infuse. Put the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to rehydrate for 20min, then strain and finely chop the mushrooms.
Step 2
Meanwhile, melt butter in a hob-proof casserole over a low heat. Cook leeks for 20min until softened. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Turn up heat to medium, add fresh mushrooms and fry for 5min until golden.
Step 3
Strain the milk, discarding the onion, bay leaf and peppercorns. Return leeks to the mushroom pan with any juices. Sprinkle over flour. Cook for 2min, then, off the hob, gradually add the milk, stirring constantly, to make a sauce. Return to heat, stir until thickened, then simmer for 2min.
Step 4
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain.
Step 5
Preheat grill to medium. Stir the pasta into the sauce with the soaked, chopped mushrooms, mustard and oregano. Check seasoning. Dot with the mozzarella and sprinkle with the parmesan. Grill for 4-5min until bubbling, then serve.
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”!).
