Baked pappardelle with pancetta and porcini

Bake pasta for a bubbling sharing-at-the-table dish. Can you resist the aroma of cheese, pancetta and porcini?

Ingredients

• 500ml/18fl oz milk
• 20g/¾oz dried porcini mushrooms
• 40g/1½oz butter
• 25g/1oz plain flour
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 100g/4oz pappardelle
• 50g/2oz pancetta, cut into 2cm/1in pieces
• 4-5 tbsp freshly grated parmesan

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Warm the milk in a saucepan, add the porcini mushrooms, remove from the heat and soak for 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve suspended over a bowl, pressing lightly on the mushrooms with the back of ladle to extract all the milk.
3. Heat the butter in a clean saucepan, add the flour and stir over a low heat for 2-3 minutes without colouring the roux.
4. Pour in the porcini-flavoured milk all in one go and whisk together vigorously until smooth. Cook the sauce for a further 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside.
5. Bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain in a colander, tip into a roomy bowl and carefully stir in the sauce, porcini and pancetta until well combined.
6. Place the pasta into a lightly buttered oven-proof dish. Smooth the surface and cover with two tablespoons of the parmesan. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbling around the edges and golden-brown.
7. Serve the dish piping hot at the dinner table and have extra cheese at the ready.