Pasta Souffle – a recipe from Akis Petrizikis

for the vegetarian version just leave out the bacon!

Ingredients for 4 people

• 200 g bacon, in one piece
• 5 tablespoons olive oil (2+3 tablespoons)
• 500 g white mushrooms
• pepper
• 100 g (75g + 25g) graviera cheese, grated
• 100 g (75g + 25g) kaseri, grated
• 300 g heavy cream 20%
• 2 eggs, medium sized
• 200 g feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 500 g multicolored tagliatelle pasta, boiled, drained and tossed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil so as not to stick together

Method

• Preheat oven to 180* C (350* F) Fan.
• Place a pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Finely chop the bacon and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until golden.
• When ready, remove from pan and set aside.
• Cut the mushrooms into 2 cm slices and add to the pan along with 3 tablespoons olive oil.
• Season with salt and pepper and sauté for 5-10 minutes, until they release all of their liquid and turn golden.
• When ready, remove from pan and set aside.
• Grate the gruyere and country cheese.
• Place 75 g of the graviera and 75 g of the kaseri into a bowl that is large enough to hold the pasta that will be added later on.
• Add the heavy cream, eggs, salt and pepper.
• Crumble the feta cheese with your hands and add it to the bowl also.
• Last add the thyme and lightly whisk to combine.
• Add the mushrooms, bacon and boiled tagliatelle. Mix thoroughly.
• Transfer the contents of the bowl to a 30x35 cm ovenproof baking dish and smooth the surface nicely.
• Sprinkle with the remaining graviera and Kaseri.
• Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
• Then remove from oven, remove aluminum foil and bake for another 10-20 minutes, until golden.

Good Luck!