Swiss
Leftover pasta gratin
The perfect pantry-clearer: all your half-empty pasta packets gathered into a golden, cheesy bake.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Level
- Easy
Tips
- Note the cook time of each pasta shape before you start. Drop them into the boiling water in stages so they all finish together: the longest first, the others later according to their own times.
- Avoid spaghetti, the gratin ends up with an odd texture otherwise.
- The grill stage should only gratinate the cheese, not dry out the pasta (3 to 5 minutes).
- A mix of Gruyère and Parmesan gives a more fragrant gratin than a single cheese.
Method
- Take stock of your pasta and write down each shape's cook time. Group them by cook time.
- Preheat the oven to the grill setting at maximum temperature (about 270 °C). Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, reckon on 10 g salt per litre and 100 g pasta per litre.
- Add the pasta in stages so everything finishes at the same time. Example: if the longest needs 12 minutes and another needs 8, wait 4 minutes before dropping in the second.
- While the pasta cooks, make the béchamel: melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and stir constantly for a minute over low heat. Whisk in the milk gradually. Let it thicken for 5 minutes, stirring. Add a few pinches of nutmeg, season with salt and pepper.
- Drain the pasta and tip it into an oven dish. Add the béchamel and mix well so every piece is coated.
- Scatter the grated Gruyère and Parmesan generously over the whole surface.
- Slide the dish under the oven grill on the top rack for 3 to 5 minutes, just long enough to gratinate the cheese. Watch it closely so it browns without burning. Take it out, scatter the chopped parsley over the top and serve at once.