Otherwise known as “Jamie’s Pasta Bake”; a simple, tasty dish that can be easily doubled for parties. Delicious hot for dinner with some garlic toasts and also cold the next day for lunch.
The recipe suggests using orecchiette but any pasta shapes will do so it’s a great way to use up all the packets lying around the cupboard.
Baked pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella (serves 4 generously)
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped (white onions are suggested but any other onion lying to hand will do)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 to 2 dried chillies, crumbled
- 3 x 400g tins of good quality plum tomatoes
- large handful of basil, torn
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 400g short, any shaped dried pasta, preferably orecchiette
- 4 very big handfuls of freshly grated parmesan
- 3 x 150g balls of mozzarella, sliced
Heat a saucepan on Medium-low heat and a couple of glugs of olive oil, onion, garlic and chill. Slowly fry for 10 minutes until softened but not coloured.
Add tinned tomatoes and a small glass of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Wizz sauce until smooth add basil leaves, red wine vinegar and season.
Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta shapes according to packet instructions. Drain and then toss with half the tomato sauce and a handful of parmesan.
Rub a little olive oil in a baking tray and layer a third of the pasta in the bottom. Follow by a layer of tomato sauce a handful of parmesan and 1 mozzarella ball. Repeat two more times and until ingredients are used up. Make sure that there is a good layer of cheese on the top.
Cook in oven for 15 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Original recipe: Jamie’s Italy
Wine suggestions: This will work equally well with a nutty, dry white like a Verdicchio or Greco di Tufo or a mid-weight red like Barbera, Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo or a fruity Chianti. You don’t need to get too complex as this is a very social dish so it suits a social and easy style of wine.
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
This is probably our most cooked dish from Jamie’s Italy although funnily we’ve never made it with orrecchiette either. There’s a lovely shape from M&S called mesciani that we always use. Lovely stuff!
A beautiful dish and it looks delicious! ….RaeDi