Tomato and Bacon Pasta Bake

This is pure comfort food – pasta, cheese, bacon and rich tomato. It’s incredibly quick and simple and great on a cold night. It also makes a good summer side dish served warm or cold with barbecued meat.

Mmmm I can feel my arteries clogging

 

• 500g of pasta (I prefer curls, spirals or shells)
• 1 can of condensed tomato soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 onions
• a few cloves of garlic
• a decent amount of bacon
• cheese – something melty like cheddar or mozzerrella plus something  flavoursome like extra tasty cheddar or romano (or whatever)

Cook pasta in salted water til al dente or just prior.

Fry finely chopped onion and garlic with sliced bacon until bacon is cooked and onion is soft. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Pour in soup, milk and a handful or two of melty cheese. Mix through until cheese melts and it becomes a deliciously thick cheesey hot mess. Stir in pasta immediately after draining plus a little of the starchy water.

Pour it all into a baking dish and sprinkle with other cheese. Bake at around 180C for about 20 minutes or until slightly browned – if you can wait that long. It is delicious served with a vinaigrette salad to help your palate cut though the fat, but it is equally delicious alone or perhaps with bread. I believe this dish would also be good with the addition of chopped tomato, mushrooms, chicken or a sprinkling of italian herbs. It could also be made gluten free with the right pasta.