This baked pasta with a zesty tomato sauce and sticky puddles of mozzarella is a perfect meal to serve to a crowd.
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Is there anything more comfortable than meeting up over a pasta gratin? This pasta casserole is gooey comfort food. We designed it as a main dish to gather around the table: and we’ve been making it for family and friends for years. Many of our family members love it for its amazing sauce: flavorful tomato sauce with a touch of flavor from a secret ingredient. Read on for the recipe!
cook these noodles
This hearty pasta bake is perfect for sharing with family and friends during the cold months ahead. It’s made with Alex’s “genius sauce,” salted tomatoes simmered with garlic, herbs, a little butter and olive oil, and a secret ingredient: chopped green olives. They add a savory salty flavor to cooking pasta with some complexity, and if you chop them small enough, olive haters will never know. (Yes, we made this for a friend who hates olives and she was pleasantly surprised.)
Toss the awesome sauce with cavatappi pasta and top it with sticky, fresh mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and you have a belly-filling pasta casserole of goodness. If you can’t find cavatappi, any short form will do: penne or rigatoni work well, and feel free to substitute gluten-free pasta for gluten-free diets.
How to cook pasta al dente
You don’t want soft noodles with this pasta cooking! How do you cook pasta al dente? Overcooking pasta is a common mistake in the kitchen. To cook pasta al dente, read the directions on the package and taste your pasta a few minutes beforehand! (The timing on many packages results in chewy noodles.) You want to catch the noodles just as they’re going from crispy to tender. It should still be firm inside, but not crispy! Pasta with just the right bite is essential to make this dish sing.
For the tomatoes
We like to use fire roasted tomatoes straight out of the box for their sweet taste: there’s not a hint of bitterness! If you can’t find fire roasted tomatoes for this pasta chef, use the highest quality tomato you can find. We use fire roasted tomatoes in many of our recipes because they taste so good! Here are some more of our Fire Roasted Tomato recipes:
Looking for more pasta recipes?
Aside from this baked pasta recipe, here are a few other pasta recipes we love:
This baked pasta recipe is…
Vegetarian. For gluten-free pasta, use gluten-free pasta.
The description
This baked pasta with a zesty tomato sauce and sticky puddles of mozzarella is a perfect meal to serve to a crowd.
- 1 Pound cavatappi pasta or other short pasta
- 4 Garlic cloves
- 1 shallot
- 6– Ounces dry weight can ripen green olives (pitted).
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 28 oz can Muir Glen Organic Crushed Tomatoes (original or fire roasted)
- 1 can 15 ounce Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes (original or fire roasted)
- 1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons butter without salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
- 4 cups spinach leaves
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into rings
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Boil 6 liters of water with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Add pasta and cook al dente for about 6-7 minutes, then drain. Pour into a 9″ x 13″ skillet and add a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Meanwhile, peel and chop the garlic and shallot. Drain the olives and chop finely.
- In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallot and sauté 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the olives, tomatoes and their juice, balsamic vinegar, butter, nutmeg, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, pepper and honey and stir. Simmer gently for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt to your liking. Add the spinach leaves and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until tender.
- Pour the sauce over the pasta in the casserole dish and toss. Top with fresh mozzarella slices and grated parmesan. Bake until cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.
- Category: main course
- Method: Cooked
- Kitchen: Italian
Keywords: Baked pasta, baked pasta, tomato sauce, cavatappi,
