Cheese Spirali with Ham and Walnuts (Baked)

This gooey four-cheese baked pasta dish takes less than 40 minutes to prepare and cook, making it a great speedy, mid-week recipe. This recipe calls for Taleggio, Parmesan, fontina and dolcelatte, but you can add any leftover cheeses you have in your fridge. Four different cheeses is what gives this dish depth of flavour. The walnut topping adds texture, but is purely optional depending on your preference.

butter (30 g)
spirali (400 g)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
cooked ham (150 g)
fontina cheese (80 g)
Taleggio cheese (80 g)
dolcelatte cheese (80 g)
Parmesan cheese (60 g)
walnuts, shelled (40 g)
white breadcrumbs, stale (20 g)
extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, Gas mark 4). Grease a 20 cm square ovenproof baking dish with a little butter.

Place the spirali in a large pan of boiling salted water, cover and cook until very al dente - it'll continue cooking in the oven so it's important to undercook it.

Meanwhile, cut the ham into cubes and roughly chop the fontina, Taleggio and dolcelatte. Melt the butter in a large frying pan and stir in the ham. Cook for 1 minute, or until the ham is crispy.

Drain the pasta, reserving about ½ cup of pasta water.

Remove the pan from the heat, then add the chopped cheeses and allow to melt, stirring occasionally. Immediately add about a ¼ cup of pasta water. Stir until cheese melted.

Add the spirali to the sauce. Toss well, adding a splash of the pasta water to loosen, if needed. Finely grate in two-thirds of the Parmesan and season with a good twist of pepper, then transfer to the prepared baking dish.

Finely chop the walnuts and put them into a bowl with the breadcrumbs and 1 Tbsp. of oil. Finely grate in the remaining Parmesan, mix well, then sprinkle over the pasta.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings.