Baked Pasta with Broccoli, Boiled Eggs and Scamorza Cheese

Ingredients

• 500 g pasta
• 500 g broccoli
• 4 eggs
• 200 g scamorza cheese
• 400 g béchamel
• sage
• parmesan cheese

Method

This is a layering dish built on the principle of even heat distribution and emulsion stability. The béchamel acts as both binder and moisture control — it prevents the pasta from drying out during the oven stage whilst holding the other elements in place.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil (roughly 10g salt per litre). Salt the water properly; undersalted pasta will taste flat even if you season the finished dish later. Add the pasta and cook until a minute shy of al dente — the residual heat and oven time will finish it. Drain, reserving 100ml of the starchy cooking water. In a separate pot, bring fresh salted water to the boil and add the broccoli florets and unshelled eggs simultaneously. The broccoli needs 6–7 minutes until the stems are tender but still give slight resistance when pierced; the eggs need 9–10 minutes for a set white with a soft yolk. Remove both and cool the eggs under running water. Peel the eggs once cool enough to handle — the steam will lift the shell away cleanly — then halve them lengthways.

Assemble in a 20cm × 30cm baking dish or equivalent. Begin with a thin layer of béchamel covering the base. Follow with a layer of pasta, breaking sheets to fit without folding (folded pasta traps moisture and turns sodden). Over this, scatter the broccoli florets and torn scamorza, then position egg halves where they'll stay visible. Season with black pepper and a pinch of salt — restraint here; the cheese and béchamel carry salt. Repeat the béchamel, pasta, broccoli, cheese, egg sequence until all ingredients are used, finishing with a final thin layer of béchamel on top. Tear 6–8 sage leaves and press them into the surface. If the béchamel looks too thick and won't spread easily, loosen it with the reserved pasta water, a tablespoon at a time — this keeps the dish moist without adding extra liquid.

Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes. The edges should bubble at the boundary where the dish meets the pan; the top will still look pale. Switch to the broiling|grill function for a final 5–8 minutes. Watch constantly — the surface should colour to a light brown-gold. The cheese will pull away from the edges slightly and the whole thing will smell nutty. If the top colours too quickly, move the dish lower in the oven. Rest for 3 minutes before serving; this allows the béchamel to set just enough to hold the layers without breaking them apart.