Pasta Bake

By jacobwaynesmith

Ingredients

• 1 pound small shell pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 1/2 small to medium yellow onion
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed Italian tomatoes, any brand
• 1 cup store bought basil pesto sauce
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of handfuls
• 1/4 pound fresh mozzarella
• Breadcrumbs
• Salt and pepper

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 25mins
Cooking time 40mins
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

Preparation

Step 1

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt the water. Add small shell pasta and cook the pasta to less than al dente. Past should be a little under cooked.

Chop garlic and onions

Saute onions in olive oil until translucent
Add garlic and saute for 1 minutes

Add the tomatoes to the onions and stir. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to your taste. At this point you can also add red peper flakes for a bit of heat.

When the tomatoes come to a boil, reduce the heat to low.

Preheat your broiler to high and place a rack in the center of the oven.

Drain pasta shells. Add them to a casserole dish. Add pesto sauce and 3/4 of the cheeses. Stir carefully and coat the hot pasta with the pesto and cheeses.

Pour the hot tomato and basil sauce over the pasta. Put last 1/4 of the cheeses on top and then sprinkle on breadcrumbs.

Place the casserole under the broiler in the middle of oven, 10 to 12 inches from the heat. Let the cheese melt and brown on top, 3 to 5 minutes.