Cafe Lula

After turning Philly cheese steak into pasta last week, I’ve been thinking about what else would be fun to turn into pasta. I decided on beef enchiladas.

The pasta is mixed with a beef enchilada filling, then covered in a cheese sauce and extra cheese and baked in the oven. If you don’t think that sounds ace, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.

Tex-mex enchilada pasta bake

A Cafe Lula recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the enchilada sauce:

olive oil, for frying

2 large shallots, sliced

3 slices jalapeno from a jar, chopped

300g minced beef

1/2 courgette, sliced

100g mushrooms, sliced

1/3 red pepper, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

salt and black pepper, to season

300g tomato passata

180g penne or rigatoni

For the cream sauce:

10g butter

10g plain flour

200ml milk (I used skimmed)

black pepper, to season

20g cheddar, grated

60g grated mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).

First, make the enchilada sauce. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan and fry the shallots over a medium heat until softened. Add the mince and jalapenos and brown all over. Add the cumin, oregano, mushrooms, red pepper and courgette and fry for a few minutes, then add the passata. Season and set over a low heat to simmer while you make the cream sauce.

To make the cream sauce, melt the butter in a small pan over a medium-high heat. When the butter has melted and is just beginning to bubble, add the flour and stir well. Stir for a few seconds, letting the flour get nice and hot, then turn the heat to low-medium and add the milk 25ml at a time, stirring well after each addition until it is all absorbed before adding the next bit. When you have added all of the milk and you have a smooth sauce, add the grated cheddar and stir to melt. Remove from the heat and put the pasta on to cook.

When the pasta has cooked, drain it and stir it into the beef mixture, coating the pasta well. Pour this into an ovenproof dish and then pour and spread the cheese sauce on top. If the sauce has thickened too much, just reheat it over a low heat and add a little more milk if necessary. Top with the grated mozzarella and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the mozzarella has melted and started to crisp in places. Serve!