Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake

I was in the mood for comfort food yesterday, and this absolutely hit the spot.  It's a sort of mac 'n' cheese, with a few twists to make it lower syn / food optimising.  I've tried versions before with quark / fromage frais / cottage cheese to make it free, but I like this version better - worth spending a couple of syns for I reckon.  The cheese included comes to 4 x HEA allowances, so I only spent syns on the crème fraiche. 
Serves 4


Ingredients


350g pasta (I used a mix of conchiglie and fusilli)
Frylight
1 gammon steak, cut into cubes
2 leeks, sliced
1 courgette, cut into quarters lengthways then sliced
200g low fat crème fraiche (check syns, as brands vary - mine came to 8 syns = 2 per portion)
1 tsp mustard powder
A pinch of nutmeg
120g reduced fat cheddar, grated
30g parmesan, grated
4 tomatoes, sliced


Method


1.  Cook the pasta for a couple of minutes less than the packet instructions say.  If it's overcooked you'll end up with a hot soggy mush at the end.  Reserve some of the cooking water for loosening the sauce later.


2.  Spray a pan with frylight and pan fry the gammon cubes for 4-5 minutes.  Add in the leeks and courgettes and fry for a couple more minutes.


3.  Stir the mustard powder and nutmeg into the crème fraiche.


4.  Tip the cooked pasta into an ovenproof dish.  Add the gammon mix, the crème fraiche, and three quarters of the cheddar and parmesan.  Mix together well, adding some of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen up the sauce.  Top with the sliced tomatoes and the rest of the cheeses. 


5.  Bake at 200-220C for 15-20 minutes, until golden and bubbling on top.  Serve with a green salad.