Buddy's Pasta Bake

Ingredients

• 2 heads of broccoli (13 oz each)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
• 6 cups reduced-fat (2%) milk
• 3 1/2oz baby spinach
• 3 1/2oz cheddar cheese
• 1 1b dried pasta shells
• 3 1/2oz garlic bread

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• Cut off and discard the tough ends of the broccoli stalks, trim the green florets into 1 IA-inch pieces and put aside, then roughly chop all the remaining stalks and place in a food processor.
• Peel and add the garlic, then blitz until fine.
• Place a large shallow casserole pan on a medium heat. Once hot, go in with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the chili flakes, to taste.
• As soon as they start to sizzle, tip in the blitzed broccoli stalks.
• Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then pour in 4 cups of milk.
• Pour the remaining 2 cups of milk into the processor with the spinach and crumble in the cheese (l wanted this to be healthy, but now's the time to add extra cheese if you want it more indulgent). Blitz until smooth, pour into the pan, then bring to a boil and season to perfection.
• Stir the broccoli florets and pasta shells into the sauce and boil for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
• Tear the garlic bread into the processor (there's no need to clean it) and blitz into crumbs.
• Sprinkle over the pasta bake and transfer to the oven for 15 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Delicious served with a fresh green salad.

SEASONAL SWAPS

Go festive and swap out the broccoli for Brussels sprouts — blitz half for the sauce and quarter the rest to add with the pasta. Embrace Christmas cheeseboard cheeses, and try a cheeky crumbling of chestnuts in the garlic bread crispy bits.

Nutrition

Category	Value
ENERGY	392kcal
FAT	12.1g
SAT FAT	6.2g
PROTEIN	22.5g
CARBS	65.4g
SUGARS	12.5g
SALT	0.6g