Jamie Oliver's cheesy pasta with crispy pangritata uses leftovers for a quick comfort meal

If you ever went a little overboard with a cheeseboard you will know how tedious it can be to try to finish all the leftovers before they start to dry up.

Luckily, Jamie Oliver has a simple recipe that incorporates any cheese you have in the fridge to help with that task - and it's ready in just 30 minutes.

His oozy pasta recipe, which serves four, makes for a quick and easy meal and is topped off with a crispy pangritata that adds texture.

Sharing this dish on his official website, the chef said: “A comforting, delicious dinner, which you can bosh together without too much hassle.

“This recipe is great for using up any leftover cheese from your Christmas cheeseboard – I tend to chuck in a mixture of hard, soft, strong and mild cheeses, but go easy on the blue cheese (that stuff can be strong!). ”

Cheesy pasta with crispy pangritata recipe

Ingredients

• Three heaped tablespoons mascarpone cheese or crème fraîche

• 100 g mixed leftover cheese

• 250 g dried taglierini

• extra virgin olive oil

Pangritata:

• Two slices of quality sourdough bread

• One clove of garlic

• Five shelled walnuts

• One sprig of fresh rosemary, thyme or marjoram

• olive oil

Instructions

To prepare the pangritata, gently toast the sourdough bread. Peel the garlic cloves and place them in a food processor along with the toasted bread and walnuts. Add the herb leaves and blend until the mixture is fine.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, drizzle in some olive oil, then add the pangritata mixture. Fry for approximately five minutes, or until it turns golden and crispy.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and place a large heatproof bowl over the pot.

Add the mascarpone or crème fraîche to the bowl, along with the leftover cheeses. Crumble or grate any harder cheeses before adding. Stir the mixture until all the cheeses are melted.

Carefully remove the bowl from the heat and set it aside. Increase the heat to high and bring the water back to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package instructions.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the bowl of melted cheese and toss to coat, using a splash of the reserved cooking water to loosen the sauce if necessary.

Transfer the pasta to a serving dish, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle the crispy pangritata on top, and serve immediately.