Baked pasta with tomatoes & mozzarella (Pasta al forno con pomodori e mozzarella)
This pasta dish is loved all over Italy. It is eaten by families at gatherings or celebrations and is also something the monks I visited at the Abbazia di Farfa, just outside Rome, have every Sunday as a special lunch. I'm pleased to say my faith in this dish has been restored, as I did fall out of love with it (as a result of trying to cook it in schools on a tight budget, using the cheapest pasta in the world). When I was in Altamura, in Puglia, I visited a school where they were eating baked pasta for their school lunch, bizarrely enough! However, Italian government laws state that the schools must use organic pasta and extra virgin olive oil, and they also had freshly made mozzarella! When made properly like this, it's absolutely delicious. This was the recipe that was made for 1,000 kids at the school I visited and it was very, very good.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
What these numbers assume — 11 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Parmesan Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 110 |
| Mozzarella Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 85 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Plum | 1 medium (66g) | 30 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Basil | 5 leaves fresh (2.5g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 white onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
- 1-2 dried red chillies, crumbled
- 1.5 kg ripe tomatoes, or 3 x 400g cans of good-quality plum tomatoes
- 1 large handful fresh basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, optional
- 14 oz dried orecchiette
- 4 big handfuls Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 3 x 5 oz mozzarella balls