Etruscan pasta gratin with ham and mushrooms

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g pasta shells
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 300 g mushrooms, fresh
• 200 g cooked ham
• 200g Cheddar
• some olive oil for frying the mushrooms
• salt and pepper
• 30 g butter
• 30 g flour
• 500 ml milk
• 1 ½ tsp vegetable broth
• 1 pinch(s) nutmeg
• 1 pinch of marjoram
• some breadcrumbs
• some butter flakes

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 35 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 5 minutes

Cook the pasta in salted water al dente according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving some of the cooking water and setting it aside. Finely chop the parsley. Cut the mushrooms into strips, fry them in a pan with a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cut the cooked ham into strips and pull the strips apart. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside. Melt the butter in the pan and sprinkle in the flour over low heat. Let the roux sweat a little. Remove the pan from the heat and add the milk. Stir in the milk thoroughly to avoid lumps. Add the stock, nutmeg, and marjoram to the sauce. Return the pan to the heat and simmer the sauce over low heat for 15 minutes. When the milk has thickened, add the chopped parsley and the mushrooms and bring to a boil briefly. Loosen the slightly sticky pasta with a little of the reserved pasta water and place it in a casserole dish. Pour the light sauce over the pasta, then top with the ham and half of the grated cheddar. Mix the ingredients thoroughly. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar over the casserole, sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top, and scatter 5-6 knobs of butter over the casserole. Bake the gratin in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) with conventional or fan-assisted heat for 15 minutes.