Easy Cheesy Tomato Pasta Bake
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Total: 55-60 mins
An easy pasta bake that’s brimming with Med veg to fill your new year with edible sunshine. Folded into a rich Italian tomato passata sauce with tender pasta curls and baked under a bubbling blanket of melting mozzarella and cheddar.
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583 kcal
(per portion)
Ingredients you'll need
  • 35g sun dried tomatoes
  • 300g gnochetti pasta
  • 1 onion
  • 3 mixed peppers
  • 1 courgette
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp Italian herb blend
  • 690g passata
  • 100g cheddar
  • 100g mozzarella
From your kitchen
  • Sea salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Freshly ground pepper
You'll need
  • Large pan with lid
  • Ovenproof dish
Step by step this way
  • 1.

    Preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Fill and boil your kettle, then fill a large pan with the hot water, topping it up if needed. Add a large pinch of salt. Set the pan on a high heat and bring it back to the boil.

  • 2.

    Cook the pasta^ Snip the sun-dried tomatoes into strips with kitchen scissors, or use a knife to chop them. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and simmer for 6 mins. Add the sun dried tomatoes and cook for 2 more mins. Drain and set aside.

  • 3.

    Chop the veg^ Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onion. Halve the peppers, scoop out the seeds and white pith, then roughly chop them. Trim the ends off the courgette, halve it lengthways and slice it into half-moons. Peel and grate or crush the garlic.

  • 4.

    Make the sauce^ When you’ve drained the pasta, put the empty pan back on a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and the onion, courgette and peppers. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and fry, stirring often, for 10 mins till the veg are glossy are starting to soften.

  • 5.

    Stir the garlic into the pan with 1 tbsp Italian herb blend. Cook and stir for 2 mins, then pour in the passata. Pop on a lid and simmer for 5 mins to mingle the flavours.

  • 6.

    Make the bake^ Meanwhile, coarsely grate the cheddar. Drain the mozzarella and tear it into small pieces. When the sauce has simmered for 5 mins, taste it and add a pinch of salt or pepper if you think it needs it.

  • 7.

    Tip the pasta and sun dried tomatoes into a large ovenproof dish. Pour over the tomato sauce and gently stir to mix. Sprinkle over the cheddar and mozzarella. Slide the dish into the oven and bake for 20-25 mins till golden and bubbling. Let the bake cool for a few mins, then serve in warm bowls.

  • Tip

    Get Ahead
    You can make the tomato sauce for the pasta bake the night before and store it in the fridge in a covered dish or bowl. To make the bake, cook the pasta and sun dried tomatoes, then cover with the sauce in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with the cheeses and bake for around 30-35 mins.

  • Tip

    Eat Me, Keep Me
    The pasta bake will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Simply divide into individual containers, cool, then seal and chill or freeze. Defrost overnight and reheat in the microwave or in the oven till piping hot all the way through. If you are reheating in the oven, transfer to an ovenproof dish, add a few tbsp water or stock to the dish before you spoon in the pasta bake, then loosely cover with foil to stop the cheese burning while it warms up.

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