Tuna pasta bake with cheese and pepperoni

So initial recipe, something warm and filling for these chilly winter nights

Tuna pasta bake with cheese and pepperoni

Serves 4 to 6 people

Ingredients

1) 2.5 -> 3 cups of pasta (whatever floats your boat, I used twists)

2) One Jar pasta sauce (my personal fave is the jamie oliver stuff, as I don't have the space to make / store home made)

3) One can tuna in brine / water

4) Wafer thin pepperoni (I use the Dulano wafer thin stuff from LIDL but again whatever floats your boat)

5) Cheese (for the topping, I used about 150g or there abouts of mature cheddar)

6) Pepper (preferably fresh ground black) to taste and some mixed italian herbs

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4

2) Boil a largish pot of water and add some salt (sea salt is best, but table/cooking salt will do)
3) Once boiling; add the pasta to the pot and stir, cook for 10 to 15 mins or until tender

4) While the pasta is cooking, open the tuna and drain off the brine / water and break it up with a fork or similar

5) Grate the cheese roughly (coarsely grated is what we are aiming for, fine grate makes it clump)

6) Drain the pasta and return to the pot

7) Add the tuna and the pasta sauce and mix well

8) Add some pepper and the herbs as per your preference (I'm kinda heavy handed in that respect) and stir some more

9) Place in a (preferably) ceramic oven dish and level it out

10) Shred some pepperoni using a knife or tear it up with your fingers and scatter over the pasta

11) Sprinkle the grated cheese over the pasta and pepperoni evenly

12) Add some more pepper to the top if you wish (yes I love the taste of pepper)

13) Place uncovered into the oven and bake for between 15 and 25 mins (depending on how brown you like the cheese)

14) Remove from the oven and let stand for a few mins (careful its hot)

15) Eat!

Here is what you hopefully should end up with
(yes I forgot the step by step photos I intended to take :-P and I used my cell phone camera rather than getting the "proper" digi cam...I was hungry!)