Creamy pasta penne with ham and garlic breadcrumbs
If you’re going to be eating ham for days, be creative! Just toss slices with penne, greens and pesto.
Ingredients
1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup leftover garlic bread, torn into bite size pieces
1 brown onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups sliced leftover ham, cut into matchsticks
500g dried penne
1⁄2 cup spreadable cream cheese
1⁄4 cup leftover pesto
2 cups leftover baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
1⁄2 cup basil leaves
Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season
Method
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Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add bread and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and set aside.
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Return pan to heat with remaining oil. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is just soft. Remove onion from pan and set aside. Add ham to same pan and cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned, then transfer to onion mixture.
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Meanwhile, cook penne in a large saucepan of boiling salted water following pack instructions. Drain well. Return to pan with cream cheese, pesto, spinach, basil and ham mixture. Toss well to combine. Season and top with garlic breadcrumbs. Serve.
