Pasta Tomato And Mozzarella Al Forno Recipes

BAKED PASTA WITH TOMATOES & MOZZARELLA (PASTA AL FORNO CON POMODORI E MOZZARELLA)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/400ºF/gas 6 and put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Heat a couple of lugs of extra virgin olive oil in an appropriately sized pan. Add your onion, garlic and chilli and slowly fry for about 10 minutes on a medium to low heat until softened but without any colour. If you're using fresh tomatoes, remove the core with the tip of a small knife, plunge them into the boiling water for about 40 seconds until their skin starts to come away, then remove with a slotted spoon or sieve and remove the pan from the heat.
• Put the tomatoes into a bowl and run cold water over them, then slide the skins off, squeeze out the seeds, and roughly chop. Add your fresh or canned tomatoes to the onion and garlic, with a small glass of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 20 minutes. Now put them through a food processor or blender to make a loose sauce. Tear your basil leaves into the sauce and correct the seasoning with salt, pepper and a little swig of red wine vinegar.
• When the sauce tastes perfect, bring the water back to the boil. Add the orecchiette to the water and cook according to the packet instructions, then drain and toss with half of the tomato sauce and a handful of Parmesan. Get yourself an appropriately sized baking pan or earthenware dish and rub it with a little olive oil. Layer a little pasta in the pan, followed by some tomato sauce, a handful of grated Parmesan and 1 sliced-up mozzarella ball, then repeat these layers until you've used all the ingredients, ending with a good layer of cheese on top. Pop it into the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden, crisp and bubbling. Italians seem happy to eat this dish at room temperature or quite cold, but I prefer to eat mine hot.

PASTA, TOMATO, AND MOZZARELLA AL FORNO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Heat oil in a skillet; add garlic and cook over med-high heat until fragrant, 1 minute.
• Add tomatoes and oregano; simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 15 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper to taste; remove and reserve 6 tablespoons tomato sauce from the pan.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water, until just firm to the bite; drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
• Toss drained pasta with remaining sauce, adding reserved water as needed.
• Place half the pasta in an oiled 13 x 9 inch baking dish; cover with half the mozzarella and half the Parmesan.
• Top with remaining pasta; cover with reserved tomato sauce and remaining mozzarella; sprinkle with remaining parmesan.
• Bake until golden and bubbling, 15 minutes.

PASTA AL FORNO (BAKED PASTA WITH TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Fill a large pot with 7 litres of water and 70 grams of salt. Bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile take a bit of olive oil and put it on some bunched up cling film to rub around the inside of a baking dish.
• Cut the mozzarella into 1.5 cm cubes.
• Cook the penne in the water for the time indicated on the package minus 1 minute. Drain the pasta and add it to the baking dish with the passata, mozzarella, 10 grams of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, oregano and salt to taste.
• Mix the ingredients around until they are well mixed.
• Sprinkle the remaining 40 grams of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over the top.
• Bake for 15 minutes until the top is golden. Let the pasta sit for 5 minutes before serving.

PASTA AL FORNO {BAKED PASTA WITH TOMATOES AND MOZZARELLA}

Steps:

• In a large pot of lightly salted water, cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, in a 10- or 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the tomatoes (undrained), oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thickened. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
• After draining the pasta, return the noodles to the pot and pour in the sauce. Toss to combine. Lightly coat a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Place half of the pasta in the dish. Sprinkle half of the Parmesan and half of the mozzarella cubes over the top. Top with remaining pasta. Sprinkle remaining cheeses over the top. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes until hot and bubbly.

PASTA WITH MOZZARELLA, TOMATOES AND FRESH BASIL

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cheese, oil, garlic, salt and pepper; let stand at room temperature for 1 hour., Meanwhile, cook linguine according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. Add to cheese mixture. Stir in basil and tomatoes. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

PASTA WITH TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• First skin the tomatoes - put the tomatoes in a bowl and pour boiling water over them and leave for 1 minute, then drain and slip off their skins.
• Reserve 3 tomatoes for later and roughly chop the rest.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, then add the onion and garlic and let them gently cook for 5-6 minutes, until they are softened and light golden in colour.
• Add the chopped tomatoes with about a third of the basil, torn into pieces and season with salt and freshly milled black pepper.
• Let the tomatoes simmer on a very low heat, without a lid, for about 1-1½ hours or until the tomatoes are reduced to a thick sauce, stirring now and again.
• Roughly chop the reserved tomatoes and stir them in, along with the rest of the torn basil leaves and take it off heat.
• Cook the pasta as per the package instructions.
• When you are ready to eat, gently re-heat the tomato sauce and stir the cubes of mozzarella into the warm sauce and let it simmer gently for 2-3 minutes only to slightly soften the cheese (just begun to melt).
• Serve the sauce spooned over the drained pasta, sprinkled with the parmesan (if using) and add a few basil leaves as garnish.

MEATBALL PASTA BAKE (PASTA AL FORNO)

Steps:

• Mix the grated onion, 1 crushed garlic clove, mince, breadcrumbs, milk, parmesan and parsley in a large bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. Mash the mixture together with your hands until combined. Mould the mix into small balls (about walnut-sized) with damp hands. There will be about 20 meatballs.
• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a deep frying pan and fry the meatballs for 6-8 mins until golden brown all over. Fry in batches if you need to - they don't need to be cooked through, just browned on the outside. Set aside on a plate.
• Heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in the pan and fry the chopped onion for 5 mins until softened. Add the remaining garlic, fry for another minute, then add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 10 mins until thickened and the tomatoes have broken down. Season well with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta for 5 mins less than the pack instructions state, in boiling salted water. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Stir the meatballs into the tomato sauce, adding a splash of water if too thick, and bring to a simmer. Drain the pasta and tip into an ovenproof dish. Pour over the sauce and meatballs and mix well. Stir in most of the mozzarella, then scatter the remaining over the top. Bake for 15-20 mins until the cheese is golden and bubbling, and the top is slightly crisp.

RICOTTA PASTA WITH TOMATOES AL FORNO

Steps:

• Prepare as for the master recipe, #192, sauteéing the garlic with the onions until soft, 8 minutes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and parsley and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat.
• Preheat the broiler to high and place the top rack 6 to 8 inches from the broiler.
• Drain the pasta. Add it to the bowl with the cheeses. Toss to melt the butter and evenly coat the pasta with cheeses, then season with salt and pepper. Add the tomato sauce and the basil and toss again to combine. Transfer the mixture to a baking casserole, then evenly distribute the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmigiano cheese and the slices of fresh mozzarella over the top. Place under the broiler and crisp up the top and edges of the pasta, melting and browning the cheeses evenly.

BAKED PASTA WITH TOMATO, CREAM, AND FIVE CHEESES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 500 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 4 minutes. Drain in a colander.
• While pasta is cooking, place cream, tomatoes, cheeses, salt, and basil in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Add cooked pasta to cheese mixture, and toss to combine.
• Divide among six to eight shallow ceramic gratin dishes (1 1/2 to 2 cups in capacity). Dot with butter, and bake until bubbly and brown on top, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with pecorino Romano and scallions. Serve immediately.