Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 400 g rigatoni pasta
  • 50 g butter
  • 50 g all-purpose flour
  • 600 ml fresh whole milk (warmed)
  • Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)
  • a generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 125 g strong cheddar (grated)
  • 125 g Parmesan cheese (grated)
  • 220 g tuna fillets in jars (or canned tuna chunks) (drained and flaked)
  • 200 g frozen sweetcorn drained
  • 200 g frozen peas
  • handful fresh parsley (chopped)

Instruction

  • Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C (fan) or gas mark 4.
  • Place a large pan of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Lightly season with sea salt, then add the pasta and cook for about 7-9 minutes.
  • Look at the instructions on your pasta packaging. See how long it tells you to boil the rigatoni for, and drain the pasta three minutes before this time.
  • For the white sauce, melt the butter in your saucepan and stir in the plain flour to make a “roux”, which is basically the base of the sauce.
  • Once you have cooked the roux for a minute (don’t let it brown), slowly stir in 600ml of milk, and stir, gently but continuously, until the sauce thickens, about 5-7 minutes.
  • If the sauce starts bubbling, turn the heat to low and continue to stir until the sauce has reached a silky creamy consistency.
  • Turn the heat off and season with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper and freshly grated nutmeg to taste.
  • Once the white sauce is ready, stir in 2/3 of the cheddar and 2/3 of the parmesan cheese, and set the sauce aside.
  • By this time, your rigatoni should be ready and super al dente.
  • Drain and transfer the pasta into a large bowl, add in the tuna, sweetcorn and peas.
  • Stir in ½ of the white sauce and mix until combined. You can also add some chopped parsley if you like.
  • Transfer the ingredients in a 6x8 inches baking dish, and top with the remaining white sauce.
  • Sprinkle the remaining cheddar and parmesan cheese on top, and your pasta is ready to hit the oven.
  • Bake for around 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese on top is golden brown. If you want some nice crunchy brown spots, set the baking dish under the grill for 2-3 minutes extra.