Baked Pasta

So I asked for some ideas for dinner, and here’s what it boiled down to: I need some comfort.  So I made a baked pasta; sorta like a mac n’ cheese, but with grownup flavours.  Like feta.  And peppers, onions & zucchini gently sautéed before going into the sauce.  While I was cooking it, I took pictures.  Lots of pictures.  And I’m going to try to post them here, as my dear Reader Rebecca keeps encouraging me to do.

But before I get into the recipe, I have a question for you.  Do you have a favourite pan or pot?  No, I don’t mean a brand name or style, but an actual pan.  My favourite pan is a non-stick, enormous frying pan that has a lovely glass lid.  My sister-&-brother-in-law bought it for me last Christmas and I use it as often as I can.  I was thinking about whether this was normal or not while I was working on this creation last night.  So tell me: do you have a favourite pot or pan?  Make me feel not so alone, won’t you dear reader?  :}

Okay, so back to the recipe.  Here’s what I did:

vegetables, waiting to become a meal

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
1 med onion
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 crown broccoli, in small bite-sized pieces
1 zucchini, chopped in “interesting shapes” (as Jaime Oliver likes to say)
1 yellow pepper, again cut into interesting shapes
5 cocktail tomatoes
1 tsp dried dill
3 cups dried pasta
1 jar PC Sweet Basil tomato sauce
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 cups grated mozzarella

broccoli, in bite-sized pieces

Method

• preheat oven to 350
• In a non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. (Note: if you are not using a non-stick pan, you will need more olive oil.  Maybe as much as a tablespoon.) While it’s heating, chop the garlic. Once it’s hot, add the garlic and sauté for about a minute.  Slice the onion and add to the garlic.  Stir it up and allow to cook until translucent.

garlic and onions - YUM!

• Meanwhile, put water in a pot for the pasta.  Bring to boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and cook until desired tenderness is reached.  Drain and set aside.
• Add the broccoli & zucchini pieces to the onion & garlic.  Stir it up and allow to sauté for 2-3 minutes; the broccoli colour will brighten significantly.

see the zucchini, these are my "interesting shapes"

• Once this happens, add the tomatoes, peppers and dill!  Stir everything and allow it to cook for 5-7 minutes.  I timed it based on my broccoli’s colour; when it started to loose some of the intense green, I turned the element off.  You still want it to be bright and crunchy, as it’s going to continue to cook in the oven and you don’t want the flavour of over-cooked broccoli.  Blech!  I hate that taste.

look at the cooking veggies - aren't the colours gorgeous???

• So now your pasta is finished cooking and so have your veggies.  Your cheese is ready, all you need is to assemble it all and bake it.  So here we go!
• Spread about 1/2 of your cooked pasta on the bottom of a 3 ltr baking dish.  Pour about 2 thirds of the jar of sauce over the pasta and add the vegetables.  Stir it all up nicely, and then spread evenly over the pan.

cooked vegetables being spooned into the baking dish

baking dish full of goodness!

• Next, sprinkle this with the crumbled feta cheese.  This is a thin layer, I know, but feta packs a lot of flavour.  Share it evenly over the pasta and veggies.

first layer sprinkled with feta

• Top with the rest of the pasta, and then pour the remaining sauce over the pasta.  Spread it over all the noodles so that every one has the sauce on it.

• Lastly, top with the mozzarella and bake in the oven for 50 minutes.

Last step! The little one is Sam's, made with soy cheese.

Oh My GOD this smelled amazing as it was cooking…  I almost couldn’t wait for it to be finished!  This dish was a massive hit in my house.  We could not cool it fast enough for Sam’s liking, and Connor ate all of it – including the zucchini! – without complaint.  I was told that it got two thumbs way up, and I must make this again.  That is high praise my friends, high praise….

ooey-gooey goodness!

I hope your family loves it too.

Michelle’s Lasagne

This recipe stared years and years ago when I was in high school and used to do something I called, “Christmas Dinner at Lunch”.  This was a tradition in which I invited all my friends over for a fancy dinner at my parent’s house, at lunch time.  And I would serve lasagne.

I called my favourite auntie Ann who gave me her famous vegetarian recipe.  And I used it faithfully for a couple of years, but as I came into my own in the kitchen, I started tweaking.  It is still basically the recipe that she gave me almost 20 years ago, because really: it’s hard to improve upon perfection.  Thanks for sharing with me, auntie Ann.

Ingredients

1 can (790 ml’s/28 oz) Unico diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 rounded teaspoon (from your kitchen drawer, not a measuring set) sugar
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp pepper
½ red wine
olive oil
garlic powder
dried basil
dried oregano
1 onion, peeled & finely diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 carrots, peeled & shredded
1 large zucchini, shredded
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 big blocks of mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese
romano cheese

Method

1. Turn element on medium-low. Empty the canned tomatoes into a large pot. With a potato masher, crush down the tomatoes. Add the tomato paste, sugar, salt, pepper & wine and stir it up until well blended. Put the lid on, and stir it occasionally. Once the sauce comes to a boil, turn the element to low and allow to simmer while you’re doing the next steps.
2. Heat 1 tbsp. Of olive oil in a large frying pan, turned to medium on your stove. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and gently sauté until they are golden in colour, about 2-3 minutes. Once they’re golden, add them to your sauce base and stir in well.
3. Wipe the frying pan out with a paper towel, return to heat and add another tbsp of oil. Once oil is again hot, add red peppers, ¼ tsp of each garlic, basil & oregano. Sauté until soft, 3-4 minutes. Add to sauce and stir in well.
4. Wipe the frying pan out with a paper towel, return to heat and add another tbsp of oil. Once oil is again hot, add green peppers, ¼ tsp of each garlic, basil & oregano. Sauté until soft, 3-4 minutes. Add to sauce and stir in well.
5. Wipe the pan, add another tbsp of oil and return to heat. Add the grated carrots & zucchini along with ¼ tsp of each garlic, basil & oregano. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes, then add to your sauce mixing well.
6. Once again, wipe the pan down with a paper towel, add another tbsp of oil, and allow to get hot. Then add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Add them to the sauce and mix well. Place lid on the sauce and allow to simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. While the sauce simmers, shred your mozzarella using a food processor. Shake some grated parmesan and romano cheeses into the grated mozzarella to avoid the cheese sticking together.
8. Once the sauce is done, you can continue to step 9, or you can cool it and freeze it for later use.  Because this recipe makes enough for a big pan, I often use only half he sauce and make a small pan, and freeze the rest.
9. Spoon a little bit of the sauce – about 2 or 3 tbsp – into the bottom of the lasagna pan. This is to avoid the bottom layer of noodles sticking to the pan. Place your noodles (I have used the oven-ready kind, but prefer the fresh or boiled ones.  The oven ready ones get too crispy.) in one layer on the pan. Spoon some sauce on and spread evenly and thinly over the noodles. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Then, sprinkle some parmesan & romano cheese over the mozzarella as well.
10. Continue to layer in this fashion, about 3 or 4 layers. Then, bake in the oven at 350 for about an hour, or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

This is enough sauce for a large (11×13) pan. You can make smaller lasagnas & freeze them too. They keep very well in the freezer for about a month, as does the sauce.

I know that it’s a lot of effort to make this sauce, but it is absolutely worth it, if I do say so myself!  Here are a few other notes to consider:

• I call for red wine.  It is a much better sauce with red, but is good with white wine or vodka instead. It’s just not as rich-tasting.
• A lot of people *hate* zucchini, and you may be tempeted to omit this from the recipe.  You shouldn’t as it adds a great texture to the lasagna!  Most meat-eaters do not belive that it is meat-free because of what the zucchini does.  I hate zucchini, but I love this sauce.
• I specify Unico tomatoes in the recipe.  I really do prefer these to all other brands, and I can really taste a difference with other ones.  The only acceptable substitute IMHO are no name ones.  I don’t know why, but Alymers brand makes such a bitter sauce!

Enjoy!

Mac n’ Cheese

I posted a question on facebook the other day.  I was interested to know what people’s comfort foods were.  And what was interesting is that the majority of respondents picked a baked pasta of one type or another…  and many of those said homemade macaroni & cheese.  I agree: mac n’ cheese is one of my favourites.  Although, I don’t make it too often because I’m the only one in this house that loves it, and I’ll eat it all.    And that leads to UNcomfortable waist bands.

This is how my Mom makes it, and how her Mom made it before her.  We all have a version, I’m sure!  Readers, if you would like to share your recipe, please post it in the comments section.

Ingredients

3 cups dry elbow macaroni
about 3 cups grated, old cheddar (the sharper the better!)
3/4 cup flour
1 can tomato juice (1 ltr size)
salt & pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 and boil the water in a pot to cook the macaroni in.  Cook the noodles till al dante and drain.
2. While the pasta is cooking, assemble the rest of your ingredients, along with a 3ltr baking dish.
3. Once pasta is ready, scoop about 1/3 of it into the bottom of the baking dish.  Evenly cover with 3/4 cup of the grated cheese and 1/4 cup of the flour.  Sprinkle with salt & pepper, and then pour the tomato juice over it.  Not so much that the cheese is swimming in the juice, but enough to see it through the cheese.
4. Repeat step three 2 more times, using all of the remaining cheese (1 1/2 cups) on the top layer.
5. Bake at 350 for about 60 minutes, until the cheese on the top of the casserole has gotten crunchy.

Serve immediately and enjoy!