This nice and easy broccoli and salmon pasta bake makes the perfect mid-week meal. Creamy and comforting with a cheesy sauce, this pasta bake gives you a fresh new look on broccoli. Prepare a larger portion of this meal and freeze before cooking, making sure you’ve always got something delicious to defrost and pop in the oven. You can find a stock of fresh broccoli in our Greengrocers, who even have a supply of freshly frozen fish.

Ready in: 65 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

250g penne pasta
300g broccoli, cut into large florets
4 skinless salmon fillets
25g butter
25g plain flour
600ml milk
100g mascarpone
8 sundried tomatoes, thickly sliced
10 basil leaves, roughly torn
50 mature cheddar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, tip the pasta in and cook for around 6 minutes. Add the broccoli, bring back to the boil and cook for a further 4 minutes. After this time, the pasta should be soft and the broccoli tender. Drain, then leave to one side.

2. Meanwhile, place the flour, butter and milk in a large pan and heat whilst continuously stirring so that it thickens to make a smooth sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the mascarpone, tomatoes and basil. Once combined, add the pasta and broccoli and stir again.

3. Cut the salmon fillets in half, lengthways and place them in a medium-large sized ovenproof dish. Pour the cheesy-broccoli mixture on top of the salmon and sprinkle with the grated cheese.

4. Bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 30 minutes. It should start to bubble around the edge and look pale golden in colour. Serve straight out of the dish with some fresh seasonal vegetables.