Sunday, May 3, 2009

Oven baked Pasta

Inspired by the restaurants and advertisements I made my very own version of 'Oven baked Pasta' with lesser cheese, lots of vegetables and rotini pasta . (Rotini is a type of helix- or corkscrew-shaped pasta made with AP flour or whole wheat). This recipe calls for a slow baking process, through which the pasta gets well soaked in the pasta sauce, that makes it more juicy and delicious.
Here is the step by step procedure.

Before baking:


After baking:


Cooking the pasta:
Rotini Pasta (any big size pasta) - 2 cups (uncooked)
Water - 6 cups
First bring the water to boil and add the pasta and cook as per directions.
Drain water and run it under cold water.



Preparing the vegetables:

olive oil - 2 tbsp
Kale leaf - 1 cup (chopped)
Black olive fruits - 10 (cut in circles)
yellow bell pepper - 1/2 cup (chopped)
Green bell pepper - 1/2 cup
Carrot - 1 (cut into 2 inch sticks)
Onion - 1/2 cup (chopped)
Red pepper flakes - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Heat oil in a wok. The add the crushed garlic followed by the onion and kale leaf.
Then add the chopped carrot and saute well.
Then add all above except olives and stir well.
Switch off flame .Now add the olives along with cooked pasta.


Preparation of Pasta sauce:

Tomato sauce - 5 tbsp
Dried mixed Italian herbs - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1/6 cup
Sour cream (I used plain yogurt)- 2 tbsp
shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese - 1 tbsp
All purpose flour - 1 tsp (for thickening)
Mix the flour with milk. Then add everything above and mix well.
Low fat Pasta sauce is ready.


Baking the pasta:
Shredded mozzarella cheese - 1/2 cup (1 cup if u want)
Low fat Ranch dressing - 2 tbsp (optional)

1.Preheat the oven to 400 deg F. Mix the prepared pasta sauce with the cooked pasta with vegetables.
2.Spray a 9 inch dia' baking dish with olive oil.
3.Transfer the mixed pasta to baking dish. Drizzle some ranch dressing and top it with the mozzarella cheese . Bake for 15 minutes or till the cheese starts bubbling.

Oven baked pasta is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as main course lunch / dinner.
Garlic bread or Texas toast can be served as side along with a drink . I love it with coke:)
Serves 3.

Event:
Sending this oven baked pasta to Poornima's (Tasty treats) My Favorite things: cheese event which is a brain child of Bindiya .
Hope this suits the event.

29 comments:

Malar Gandhi said...

Hi, kool I am the first one to comment here!:) Pasta looks delish!! Oven baked so unique and thats a rare combo of veggies...luv the addition of kale...so healthy!!:))

Nandinis food said...

Healthy pasta viki! colourful also...My kids will love this. With veggies and greens Yum..Love the way you wrote the procedure:) very clear

Finla said...

They looks absloutley delicous. Just looking to the pic i am wishing that i had them for lunch or dinner.

ARUNA said...

it looks highly delectable Viki.....pics r so good!

Ashwini said...

OMG ! That looks so delish and colorful. Wish I could have that now. Yumm

Gita Jaishankar said...

Wow, it looks so delicious with all the cheese and veggies...looks so colorful dear :)

Srilakshmi said...

Fabulous looking Pasta! Gotta try this for sure.

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Quick to do in an oven... looks very delectable and I dont use milk in sauce should try yours...

Pooja said...

Wow oven baked! Looks yummy and tempting :)

FH said...

Delicious looking meal, love the spicy Jalapeno rings on top! :)

Vrinda said...

Pasta looks delicious..liked all the ingredients u used...yummy

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

A different twist in preparing pasta..a health meal

Lavanya said...

pasta looks so yummy vicky..my husband fav!!

Ann said...

Dear,
This is a great idea.. Looks totally Yum :) never tried baking pasta before.. will soon try this recipe :)

Priyameena said...

Looks colorful and yummy!!Also healthy with minimal cheese

Manju said...

i have so far not oven baked my pasta..looks like a great way to make good pasta.. loved the combination of greens and peppers in the pasta!! great job!

Priya Suresh said...

Thats a fabulous oven baked pasta dish Viki, feel like have rite now:)

Anu said...

Healthy way of preparing pasta :)Looks delicious. Nice pics.

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

pasta looks sumptuous. so colorful!

Priya Sriram said...

Nice and vibrant looking pasta Viki! Appreciate your patience in cooking with so many veggies! Great job! :)

Cham said...

wow i love one pot meal, delicious pasta!

Ammu said...

Pasta looks delicious. I never tried oven baked version. Will try soon.

Unknown said...

looks delicious...love the cheesy taste..

Chutneytales said...

Lovely pasta dish...looks colorful and yummm!

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

Hey Viki,
Nice pasta. Ilove the sauce part.

Suparna said...

Best filling meal viki:) health and tasted packed in one. This dish is a winner all the way with all the veggies included.
the done dish looks very tempting.
TC

lissie said...

perfect baked pasta...my children will definitely love this! I am going to try this , dear...

Varsha Vipins said...

New to me Viki..looks perfect n grt..:)

VineelaSiva said...

First time here.I saw the oven baked recipe and very soon i tried it it came out good.Soon i will post this recipe in my blog.Thank u very much for the recipe.

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