Cheesy Pasta Bake

Cheesy Pasta Bake: Step by Step

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1. Heat the oven to 200°C / 390°F. Boil the penne for 8 minutes, 2 minutes under the packet time, and drain, keeping a mugful of the water.

   Mark done Start 8 min timer

2. While the pasta boils, fry the onion in the oil for 5 minutes, add the garlic for 1 minute, then the passata, oregano, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

3. Stir the pasta and half the cheese into the sauce, adding a splash of the pasta water if it is tight.

   Mark done

4. Tip into a baking dish, scatter over the rest of the cheese and bake for 25 minutes until bubbling and golden.

   Mark done Start 25 min timer

5. Leave for 5 minutes before serving.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

Things to Watch For

1. Undercook the pasta by 2 minutes.
2. Split the cheese between the sauce and the top.
3. If your oven runs hot, check at 20 minutes.
4. A splash of pasta water loosens a tight sauce.

Ingredient Swaps

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

What to Serve It With

Green salad · Garlic bread · Roasted broccoli · Cucumber salad

Leftovers

Keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat covered in the oven or in the microwave until hot all the way through.

What's in a Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.