Easy summery pasta al forno - with tomatoes, mozzarella, garlic and basil

[shain]

This is a recipe Iv'e been making for years, at least once per summer.

It's quick to make, and I often divide into two pans, and refrigerate them, to be baked as a quick weekday dinner.

 

• 500g fusilli pasta
• 250g dry mozzarella cheese - diced (apx 1cm sized cubes)
• 40-100g cream (full fat, or a larger amount of half and half) - I usually go with 40g, but we tend to prefer things not overly rich
• 4 large tomatoes (or 6 medium ones), preferably drier varieties, such as Roma tomatoes - cut into stripes
• 8-9 minced garlic cloves - minced
• apx 35g basil - chopped + more for serving
• optional: 1-2 tsp nutritional yeast
• plenty of pepper
• salt to taste, 1-2 tsp (I'm a salt lover and often use 2, but it also depends on the saltiness of the cooking water)

 

 

• Cook the pasta a little shy of al dente.
• Drain well, let cool a bit.
• Place in a large bowl, mix in remaining ingredients.
• Can be refrigerated at this point.
• Place the entire amount or half of it in a shallow casserole dish that will contain the pasta so that it is not too tall - you want plenty of surface area.
• Bake under a low broiler (~220-230 deg C) for apx. 40-50 minutes until the top browns very deeply and the pasta is very crisp.
• Scatter some more basil.
• Serve immediately.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2021 by shain
Corrected title spelling (log)