Three Cheese and Swiss Chard Pasta Bake Cake

This three cheese baked pasta cake with Swiss chard is so easy to prepare the most difficult part is deciding for which meal to serve it!

The secret’s out! This month for the Secret Recipe Club I cooked from Karen’s blog, Lavender and Lovage. She had so many creative recipes I didn’t know how I was going to pick just one! With things such as her Pumpkin, Kale and Walnut Galette with Pancetta and Onion Jam and Shaker Lemon Pie, I bookmarked several recipes. Actually, I had planned on making two recipes including Kentish Cherry Batter Pudding but sadly my cherries went bad while I was away for a weekend. Never fear, this pasta bake cake is here to save the day.

The three cheeses part of the title is what originally drew me to this recipe but the cheeses come in a slightly different variety than you may expect. The three are cream cheese, cottage cheese, and Parmesan. While on it’s own I am not a big fan of cottage cheese (it’s a texture thing), the combination with the other two is on point, especially with the Swiss chard. While this creamy pasta bake was suggested as a light lunch option served with a side salad, I decided to serve it for brunch with a side of cubed mango. It has eggs in it so it can totally pass for breakfast-y food, right?

Four years ago: BBQ Chicken Burgers

THREE CHEESE AND SWISS CHARD PASTA BAKE CAKE

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

250 g (8.8 oz.) whole wheat penne pasta

350 g (1 bunch) fresh Swiss chard, trimmed and roughly chopped (about 3 cups)

4 eggs, lightly beaten

300g (10.5 oz.) low fat cottage cheese

150g (5.2 oz.) reduced fat cream cheese

100g (3.5 oz.) grated Parmesan cheese, plus some extra for the topping

1 tsp finely chopped fresh dill

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 9″ spring-form pan with parchment paper and set aside (could also use a 9-inch baking pan).
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the penne pasta for 10 minutes, add the chard and blanch for 2 additional minutes, then drain in a colander.
3. Put the pasta, chard, and all of the other ingredients into a large bowl and mix well, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Spoon into the prepared pan, smooth the top and sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the pasta bake cake has set and is golden brown.
6. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

Source: Adapted slightly from Lavender and Lovage.