Cheeseboard pasta bake

• rigatoni↗500g packet g
• milk↗850ml ml
• butter↗50g g
• plain flour↗50g g
• nutmeg↗half a

  (or ¼ tsp ready ground)

• mature cheddar↗85g g

  or other hard cheese

• dolcelatte↗85g g

  or other blue cheese

• garlic and herb cheese↗85g g

  such as Boursin or roulé

• cooked ham↗200g g

  chopped

• mixed nut85g g

  such as cashews, blanched almonds, and hazelnuts, roughly chopped

• parsley↗a handful of

  roughly chopped

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   To cook the pasta, bring a large pan of water to the boil, add a generous measure of salt and tip in the pasta. Stir once and return to the boil, then boil rapidly for 12 minutes. Preheat the oven to 190C/gas 5/fan 170C.

2. 2

   To make the sauce, pour the milk into a pan and add the butter, flour and plenty of seasoning. Grate in the half nutmeg (or sprinkle in the ready ground). Bring to the boil over a medium heat, whisking all the time until it makes a smooth, creamy sauce.

3. 3

   Drain the pasta and tip it into the sauce. Taste and add extra seasoning if necessary. Stir in the ham and grate in the cheddar, then tip into a shallow ovenproof dish. Dice the remaining cheeses and swirl into the pasta to make cheesy pockets.

4. 4

   Mix the nuts and parsley together, then scatter over the pasta. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the nuts are golden and crunchy and everything is piping hot.