Mary Berry's bolognese bake is a one-dish pasta recipe that can be assembled up to six hours ahead, saving time on washing up and leaving 'clean plates all round'.
One-dish pasta bake praised by home cooks
The pasta dish is simple to make and can be prepared in advance, making it ideal for busy weeknight evenings. According to Happy Foodie, the recipe from Mary Berry's BBC2 series Simple Comforts is "packed with flavour and can be assembled up to six hours in advance."
Mary's description adds: "This is a Bolognese pasta that can be assembled ahead in one dish, ready to pop in the oven. Frying the mushrooms ensures they keep firm and flavoursome, not soft and soggy."
Home cooks share their verdict
Those who have tried it at home have said it produces a "lovely" meal that leaves "clean plates all round." One home cook said: "This recipe was so very tasty and had plenty of flavour too. My whole family loved it."
Another added: "A simple recipe to follow, delicious dinner, never fails, highly recommend." Someone else commented: "Easy to make, easy to cook, easy to follow recipe, lovely dish at the end."
Ingredients and method
The bake can be frozen before cooking and can be assembled ready to cook up to six hours ahead. The ingredients include one tbsp olive oil, two onions chopped, two celery sticks finely chopped, 675g minced beef, two garlic cloves crushed, two 400g tins of chopped tomatoes, 350ml beef stock, two tsp Worcestershire sauce, one tbsp redcurrant jelly, a knob of butter, 250g chestnut mushrooms sliced, one tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves, 225g penne pasta, 100g mature cheddar cheese grated, 50g Parmesan cheese grated, and salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To make the dish, heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry the onions and celery over high heat for about three minutes until they soften. Add the mince and break it up with a wooden spoon until it browns, then add the garlic and tomato puree and stir for a few seconds. Add the tomatoes, stock, Worcestershire sauce and redcurrant jelly, stir to combine, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and reduce the heat to a low simmer for 30 to 35 minutes.
Melt the butter in a separate frying pan, add the mushrooms and fry for a minute over high heat. Put a lid on the pan and cook for two minutes, then remove the lid and fry for a further two minutes. Add the mushrooms and thyme to the mince and stir well. Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/Gas 3. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions, drain well and run under cold water, then stir the pasta into the mince.
Spoon everything into an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with the cheeses and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden and bubbling around the edges. Serve hot with green or tomato salad.
