Sunday, October 12, 2025

Leftover Pasta Casserole

Whenever I can, since this recipe has come into my life, I try to make too much pasta when cooking other recipes. So far, no matter what I make, the Herbes de Provence just elevate the whole thing. Such a creamy, unctuous, delicious concoction that helps reduce waste. I keep a container in my freezer I add little bits of leftover pasta and blam! When I have 32oz, into the oven it goes to make this little wonder. There may be combinations of pasta recipes that won't work together, but I haven't found it yet. If the leftover pasta is overly milk, like a Pasta con Aglio et Olio, you can add a TBSP or 2 of marinara sauce or of pesto and that should do the trick.

Number of portions: 6 servings
Serving size: ~310 g
Calories per serving: ~490 kcal
Speed: Everyday Dish
Experienced cook (active time): 25–30 min
Novice cook (active time): 35–45 min
Total elapsed time: 55–65 min
LHSS Score: 3.7 / 10

32oz/900g leftover pasta (if using dry pasta, dry-to-cooked is roughly 1:2) 
1/4 cup (2oz/58gr) butter
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup (30g) flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided (80+80)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided (20+20g)
1 tsp herbs de Provence
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp Salt 
1/2 tsp pepper 
(if using plain pasta, add 2 Tbsps. to 1/4 cup tomato sauce or something else)
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a gratin dish.
  2. Cook the pasta; drain and set aside. If you have leftover pasta to use, see NOTE
  3. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the flour until smooth.
  4. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth and milk, stirring until smooth. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, or until sauce has thickened. Reduce heat and add half of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Season with herbs de Provence, nutmeg, salt and pepper, to taste.
  5. Combine the sauce with the cooked linguine and toss to coat well. Transfer the pasta to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheeses.
  6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh parsley for garnish.
  7. Serve with a green salad.
NOTE: If you have leftover pasta, weigh it to subtract that amount from the dry pasta you'll cook to make up the difference, if needed. 1lb dry pasta = 455g, while 114g pasta = 4oz. Once cooked, this amount of pasta turns into 910g (2lbs), 228g (8oz).

Saturday, October 4, 2025

Table d'hôte #3

I found this by accident, with no idea I had ever saved it. I made this when Ben and I were first together, living in the West End, and I'd invited Barry over for dinner. The star of the meal was the Rotoli. The original recipe link I had saved was on a laptop that had been stolen when our apartment was robbed, and some 16 years later I am almost positive I managed to find the same recipe I'd used, after years of wondering and intermittent searching.