May 30 2007
Wicked Baked Pasta Recipe
I found this recipe behind the fridge today (click image to enlarge). It’s a baked pasta I made up on the spot a few months ago. I’ve since made several variations of it, and it’s always delicious. The secret ingredients are cheese and ham — a.k.a. salt. Just don’t over-cook the pasta. Here’s what the little piece of paper says:
● 2-3 springs of fresh rosemary (chopped)
● roughly ground fresh pepper (more is better than less)
● 1 can of Italian stewed tomatoes, mushed up (19 fl oz / 540 ml)
● 1 can of tomato sauce (no exact measurement, whatever feels right)
● 1 red pepper (chopped)
● 1 red onion (chopped)
● Old Cheddar cheese (enough to cover pasta when grated)
● 1 handful of black olives (chopped or unchopped)
● left-over baked ham (chopped, more is better than less)
● enough cooked pasta to fill at least half a small roast pan (rotini pasta, whatever you have)
● throw everything except the pasta and cheese in the roast pan and mix it up
● dump in the pasta and mix it up again
● sprinkle with grated Old Cheddar cheese and more freshly ground pepper
● bake at 300 degrees F, covered, for about 60 minutes
● remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes (so the cheese gets slightly crusty)
Dig in.
UPDATE: I changed the cooking time. It’s best to cook it at a not-so-high temperature for awhile so everything cooks and the flavour gets spread out thoroughly. And check the comments — I’ll post photos of the baked pasta I made tonight.
You can pull out your fridge and find recipies there? That must be a pretty cool party trick!
Philip: “Hey guys! Watch this!” [Phillip pulls out fridge, picks up a piece of paper and brandishes it] “Look! A recipie for chili con carne!” [All of Phillip's friends and family oooh and aaah in amazement]
What do you find behind your stove? Your washing machine?
(In all seriousness, it sounds delish, except for the olives)
Phillip we are trying to put in a commercial kitchen here at the market..when its done…you’ll have to come visit and we can do a cooking pod cast … i am still trying to organize a tommy’s taste of home fundraiser….lobster..and alll you can eat balony….except the balony is friggin expensive….
WTF. Recipes?? And I though I was domesticated. What’s next phil? Make-up tips? How to eliminate those panti-hose tears once and for all.
By the way, the recipe is pretty good. I find you could lessen the rosemary slightly and add a hint of coriander.
I made it last night and did two things wrong: I over-cooked the pasta, and I added too much tomato sauce. Change 1 can of tomato sauce in the recipe to half a can, just enough to thicken things up but not enough to create a new sauce; it should be spread thin. Baking at a lower temperature for an hour will ensure the rosemary flavour permeates everything and the onions are cooked. It might be better to stew all the non-pasta & cheese ingredients in a pot first. I don’t know. I don’t follow recipes, even this one. I make it up as a go every time I cook.
3 photos of what it kinda looks like: Baked Pasta 1 — Baked Pasta 2 — Baked Pasta 3. Definitely too much tomato sauce is this one, and the pasta is too fat (over-cooked). Still, not too bad.
Looks good….will have to try it!!
How come I never find recipes behind MY fridge?
just needs some pancetta…orange cheddar like cheeese…eeesh get some parmesan….not the grated dust…ya cheap bastard….:-)
ahhh it looks good…
oh yeah if you want an easy peasy thicking agent grind up brown rice, or basmati..not uncle bens….in a coffee grinder and use it…just and and cook in whatever your cooking for a few minutes…you may have to play with portions…but i use about 2/3 cup for a recipe that makes about 12 cups of filling and i add it at the end of cooking…..