Mascarpone and Tomato Pasta Bake
Okay, so I appreciate that you can pop to your local supermarket and simply buy a jar of sauce and save some washing up, but nothing beats a homemade tomato sauce!! Especially when that sauce is used in my mascarpone and tomato pasta bake. It’s like you can taste the love that goes into it. So give it a go, and let me know if you’re team jar or team homemade.
My homemade tomato sauce
Did you know that a homemade tomato sauce is one of the first recipes on my Tiktok channel that got thousands of views and convinced me to keep going? Thanks again for everyones love and support for the sauce, you opened the doors for me to embrace the potato gal you see today and I will be eternally grateful.
P.s. to make this recipe vegetarian, simply switch out the Parmesan for a different hard cheese. There are so many great vegetarian options available at supermarkets, but simply forgo the cheese if needed.
Ingredients
- 500g rigatoni pasta
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tins of plum tomatoes
- Splash of water (to wash the tins out with)
- 2 tbsp mascarpone
- 3 large handfuls of baby spinach or 3 cubes of frozen spinach
- Chilli flakes to your liking
- Small handful of chopped parsley
- 2 balls of mozzarella, sliced
- A few baby plum tomatoes, in half
- Plenty of salt and pepper
- And a good grating of Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese
Method
- Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry off the onions on a medium heat until transparent.
- Add the garlic and tomato purée and cook out for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the tinned tomatoes and make sure to swill with a good splash of water to get all the juices out, then season heavily. Leave to cook on a medium, low heat for around 30-40 minutes until thickened.
- In that time get a large saucepan of water on to boil with plenty of salt in, and get the oven on to 180°C Fan/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
- When the sauce has thickened blend until smooth and then add in the mascarpone and blend again.
- Then add in the spinach and chilli flakes taste and season.
- Cook your pasta just a minute under the packet instructions to give you proper al dente pasta. Keep a mug full of pasta water and drain off the pasta.
- Mix the sauce and the pasta together with around 1/3 of the saved pasta water. You may need more you may need less. You want all the pasta to be well coated and making a glorious splashing sound when you stir it. It needs to be wet.
- Mix in your parsley and place in a suitable oven proof dish.
- Place the mozzarella, tomatoes and Parmesan on top and bake for 15 minutes then switch the oven to grill and grill until bubbling on top and slightly browned.
- Serve with some fresh salad or seasonal vegetables!