Recipe -- Tomato, Basil, and Cheese Baked Pasta

Trevor found this recipe in a kids' cookbook earlier this week, and we decided to make it together for dinner tonight. It was delicious, and we both appreciated that, while it was a bit of work, everything came together very quickly, and it did not take a lot of time to make.



Tomato, Basil, and Cheese Baked Pasta

1 lb. medium shell pasta
1 T. chopped or minced garlic
1 T. oil
1 small onion, chopped
28 oz. can crushed Italian tomatoes
1/2 c. fresh basil, torn into small pieces (10-12 leaves)
1 c. store-bought pesto sauce
1 c. ricotta cheese
1/2 c. grated parmesan
1/2 lb. shredded mozzarella

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt the water. Add pasta and cook for a minute or two less time than package directions say. The pasta will soak up more juice and keep on cooking after we drain it, so we need it to be a little undercooked. The shells will probably cook for 9 or 10 minutes.

To chop the onion, cut the ends off and cut the whole onion down the center. Wrap half and save it for another use. Cut the other half into thin slices, then turn the slices a quarter turn and chop them again. Hold the top if the knife on the cutting board and lift the back of the knife up and down over the onion to make the pieces really small. Add the chopped-up onion and the garlic to the oil. Cook, stirring a lot, until the onions are mushy and look cooked, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes to the onions and stir. When the tomatoes come to a bubble, reduce the heat under the sauce to low. Stir in basil pieces to wilt them.

Drain pasta shells. Add them to a casserole dish. Add pesto sauce, ricotta cheese, and parmesan. Stir carefully and coat the hot pasta with the pesto and cheeses. Pour the hot tomato and basil sauce over the pasta. Scatter the mozzarella cheese over the pasta.

Bake at 350 for 20 mins. or so, until cheese is melted and top begins to brown.