Images Salmon and Pasta Bake

A very quick recipe from a very long day of baking and cooking. I made two of these along with 24 cupcakes, a triple layer chocolate caramel cake and a loaf of cider and cheese bread. I was very tired by the end which is why I didn't post anything about them but I'll have it all up within the next couple of days.

Without further ado, the recipe:

1 Small Packet Macaroni
4 Medium frozen Salmon Fillets
2 Tablespoons Butter
Plain Flour
4 Cups Cheese, Grated plus more for the top
3 Cups Milk
Salt
Pepper
Frozen Peas
Frozen Broccoli
1 Can of Sweetcorn
Dijon Mustard
2 Cloves Garlic
1/2 Red Onion

Pour the entire packet of Macaroni into a pan and cover with water

Add a splash of oil (to help keep the pasta from sticking) and salt and pepper. Place the pan on the boil and get on with crushing the garlic. I added 2 cloves as I wanted quite a strong Garlic taste. Crush this and then chop finely along with your half a red onion. Set aside until later and get on with grating your cheese. I used a mix of Extra Mature and Mild, because that's what I had.

Next add the salmon to a large pan. I didn't remove my Salmon from the plastic and I usually never do. If you want to wash yours, crack on.

Whilst the salmon and pasta are cooking start making the cheese sauce. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to a pan with the chopped garlic and onion.

Once all the butter is melted and the onions have begun to soften, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of plain flour.

Now to some people making a roux, white sauce or cheese sauce may be an exact science. To me it's about feel. My mum taught both my brother and I to make this from a very young age and she never used scales or measurements. The way I make the sauce is basically 'saving' it. You're constantly bringing it back from forming one large lump! You want to add enough flour so that the butter forms a type of 'paste'. At this point quickly add around 1/2 to one cup of cheese. Now before the sauce burns or forms a massive lump which sticks to the spoon, add milk. Not too much though, just enough to 'melt/dissolve' the lump you have just created. As it starts to dissolve and thin add slightly more milk, then more cheese, then, when it starts to thicken, more milk again. Keep going like this until you have the desired consistency and taste.

Once you get a feel for making this sauce you'll be able to get it nice and smooth (apart from the lumps of garlic and onion obviously!). It just takes patience and constant attention. It's worth it though in my opinion. I used approximately 4 cups of grated cheese, 3-6 tablespoons of flour and around half a carton of milk. It all depends on taste though and desired final thickness of your sauce. Once it's done cooking remove from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. I also added 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard.

At this stage the macaroni and salmon should be done cooking. Remove them both from the heat and drain the water.

Remove the salmon from the packets. It should still be quite firm and not just falling apart. rinse it thoroughly and then flake it back into the pan in medium sized chunks.

Followed by the drained macaroni, frozen peas, frozen broccoli, sweetcorn an, finally, cheese sauce.

Gently mix this all up so as to not break up the salmon too much.

I prefer to have large chunks rather than lots of tiny little pieces.

This could be added to one large dish but I didn't have mine so I split the mix between two disposable metal containers. I added cheese to the top of one and put the other one 'as is'.

The salmon and macaroni are cooked so you are basically just waiting for them to brown and letting the vegetables cook. This took around 20-30 minutes in my oven at 240. Once done either eat straight away or leave to cool in the fridge overnight, cut into slabs and freeze in individual portions.