Baked Camembert Pasta

Imagine a gorgeous little box of Camembert covered in sliced garlic, herbs and a little bit of olive oil.  Now imagine that gorgeous little box of Camembert coming out of the oven all bubbly and melty and gooey and lovely....and then pouring that gorgeous cheese all over a bowl of pasta. 

The best part is, you don't have to imagine.  You can make it too!

Baked Camembert Pasta

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Serves 4-6

1 x 8 ounce box of Camembert cheese

2 cloves of garlic

1 sprig of fresh rosemary (I used basil)

extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound dried rigatoni (I used shells)

6 cups (approx. 6 ounces) fresh spinach leaves (I omitted since I didn't have any on hand)

4 ounces Parmesan cheese

To prepare your pasta:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Open the box of cheese and unwrap it.  Place it back in the wooden container. Score a circle into the top of the skin, then lift it off and discard.  Peel and finely slice the garlic.  Pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalk.  Lay the garlic slices on top of the cheese, sprinkle with some pepper and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.  Scatter over the rosemary leaves and gently pat with your fingers to coat them in the oil.  Grate the Parmesan.

To cook your pasta:

Place the box of cheese on a cookie sheet and put it into the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until golden and melted.  Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to a boil.  When your cheese has 10 minutes left to cook, add the rigatoni to the pan and cook according to the package instructions.  When the pasta is cooked, add the spinach to the pan - it only needs cooking for 10 seconds or so.  Drain the pasta and spinach in a colander over a large bowl, reserving some of the cooking water.  Return the pasta and spinach to the pan and let it wilt.  Drizzle with a couple of good lugs of extra virgin olive oil and add the grated Parmesan.  If the sauce is too thick for you, add a splash of the reserved cooking water to thin it out a bit.  Season with salt and pepper and give it a good stir.  Remove the cheese from the oven.

To serve your pasta:

Divide the pasta between your serving bowls.  Either drizzle the melted Camembert on top or pop the box of cheese on the table and let everyone help themselves to a lovely, gooey spoonful.