Divine Pasta Casserole

By nurseliz

Ingredients

• Pasta:
• 1 pound ground beef
• 3 cups uncooked pasta
• 1 14oz can tomatoes
• 4 fresh plum tomatoes
• 2 red onions
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves
• 1 bell pepper
• pepper
• salt
• oil
• Mornay Sauce:
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 5 tbsp grated parmesan
• mace or nutmeg
• pepper
• salt

Preparation

Step 1

The sauce prepping will only take you a minute or two, if you cut fast that is. Cut 4 ripe, plum tomatoes in half

Squeeze out the seeds, but don’t fret over a seed or two left behind.

Cut the red onions in coarse pieces or wedges.

Remove the seeds from a red, orange or yellow bell pepper and cut it in 4 pieces.

Pour a 14 oz can whole or diced tomatoes into a baking tray.

Add the onions and sprinkle 1 1/2 tsp sugar over the tomatoes

Put the tomatoes and bell pepper strips in there as well, skin side up. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt, pepper and some dried basil all over the vegetables.

Pour, or as I’m doing now, spray some oil all over. Not too much, 1 or 2 tbsp. I’m really liking these EVO spray cans.

Until you have a big tray filled with yummy veggies looking all shiny and pretty. You know this will be a flavor bomb!

Put a few garlic cloves in there as well and leave the skin on so they’ll roast inside their skin and become all sweet and nutty.

Roast the vegetables at 400F (200C) for 45 to 55 minutes. Until tender.

As soon as the vegetables are done, give them some time to cool off and peel the blackened skin off of the bell pepper.

Remove the blackened outer layer of the onions and squeeze out the garlic.

Transfer the roasted veggies to a blender, food-processor or immersion blender bowl and blitz until smooth.

Fresh basil. It really needs some fresh basil as well. Finely mince 2 tbsp.

If you’re a vegetarian, skip the next step. I have no idea how this tastes without meat, so if you make it, don’t forget to let me know!

Season a (small) pound ground beef, use salt, pepper and nutmeg. I cut some corners and bought pre-seasoned beef. Come on, it was hot out here, remember? Groceries were at the bottom of the priority list. So was food.

Now is the time to cook your pasta of choice in salted water, according to the directions on the package. Don’t forget the salt, nothing tastes worse than under seasoned pasta. Okay, maybe coriander, but still…

Quickly brown the ground beef and drain off the fat if there is any, and add the vegetable sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, check the seasoning and stir in the fresh basil. Don’t add the basil too soon or it might give off a bitter flavor.

My sauce was on the thick side, so I didn’t drain the pasta but simply transferred it from one pan to the other with a pasta spoon allowing some of the cooking liquid to be transferred as well. Put the pasta in an oven tray.

If you’re a food snob… turn your head for a split moment because I used pregrated parmesan and feel no shame whatsoever.

Melt 2 tbsp butter, add the flour and cook for a minute to neutralize the rawness of the flour. Don’t let the roux brown! Pour in one cup of milk and whisk vigorously. Slowly the sauce will thicken. Add more milk until you have a consistency you like, for me 1/2 a cup extra did the trick.

Season the sauce with 1/4 tsp salt, pepper and nutmeg or mace to taste and add 5 or 6 tbsp grated parmesan. Simmer the sauce, over really low heat, for 2 to 3 minutes.

Pour the Mornay sauce over the pasta.

Sprinkle a little extra Parmesan on top, just because you can

Pop this beauty in a preheated oven and bake at 350F (175) for 30 minutes, until the pasta is bubbly hot and the sauce is golden brown.

Get yourself a big plate, a fork and chow down. You’re gonna love it as much as we did, mark my words!