Lighter Leftover Pasta Casserole - Testing

1 - Well, everthing seems fine with this lighter version of Leftover Pasta Casserole. I managed to bring the score up by nearly 5 points, which is impressive given how little I did. I used the Winter Squash and Bacon Pasta as my base, which means the score is inaccurate given that my recipe below uses plain pasta as its metric. The score includes a dairy-free cabbage salad, which I accomplished with my Coleslaw with Vinaigrette.

Number of portions: 6 servings

Serving size: ~310 g
Calories per serving: ~490 kcal
Speed: Everyday Dish
Experienced cook (active time): 25–30 min
Novice cook (active time): 35–45 min
Total elapsed time: 55–65 min
LHSS Score: 8.2 / 10

32oz/900g leftover pasta (if using dry pasta, dry-to-cooked is roughly 1:2) 

1/4 cup (2oz/58gr) olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup (30g) flour

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cups milk

?g Swiss Chard

2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided (80+80)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided (20+20g)

1 tsp herbs de Provence

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp Salt 

1/2 tsp pepper 

(if using plain pasta, add 2 Tbsps. to 1/4 cup tomato sauce or something else)

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a gratin dish.
2. Cook the pasta; drain and set aside. If you have leftover pasta to use, see NOTE
3. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the flour until smooth.
4. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth and milk, stirring until smooth. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, or until sauce has thickened. Reduce heat and add half of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Season with herbs de Provence, nutmeg, salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Combine the sauce with the cooked linguine and toss to coat well. Transfer the pasta to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheeses.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh parsley for garnish.