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Mozzarella tomato pasta bake

mozzarella tomato pasta bake

A perfect dish for when you want something comforting, but made quickly.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, for greasing
  • 350g (12 oz) small pasta
  • 1 jar (380-400ml or 1 2/3 cups) tomato sauce
  • bunch of fresh basil, chopped
  • 400g (14 oz) aged low-moisture mozzarella cheese, grated
  • 45 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
  • + pine nuts for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 392°F (200°C), grease a 12-inch (30-cm) square baking dish with olive oil, set aside.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes (or as long as the package says so), until tender (not mushy!).
  3. Drain pasta, then transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Pour over tomato sauce and add 2/3 of basil. Stir gently until all pasta is coated.
  4. Transfer 1/2 of pasta to the prepared baking dish and spread around evenly. Sprinkle 1/3 of cheese all over. Top with remaining pasta, as evenly as possible and sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella.
  5. Lastly, scatter chopped sun-dried tomatoes all over. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and completely melted.
  6. Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining basil and serve. As you spoon the pasta into a bowl (or a plate) scatter some pine nuts on top.
  7. Store leftover pasta in an airtight container in the fridge and eaten 1-2 days.

Notes

On type of pasta: The type of pasta I used is called gnocchi, but other similar types work too and I often use any of the following: fusilli, penne rigate, pipe rigate, ziti, shells, elbows, etc.
Sometimes, when I end up with smaller amounts of various pasta, I throw it all together and make a mixed pasta bake.