The holidays are over, at least for a while, and now we’re back to all work and no play mode once again. That sucks and I always find January a little bit depressing, without much to look forward to, except of course, a good meal. Dinner is to me a little celebration every night. We can celebrate everything from “thank God the kids will be going to bed soon” or perhaps “tomorrow I can sleep in”. There’s always a reason for a good meal and good glass of wine, sometimes you just have to use your imagination a bit more to find it.

One of my favorite winter meals is baked pasta or Pasta al Forno as it’s officially known. This is a concept that is simple and can be prepared ahead of time and stuck in the freezer or fridge until you’re ready to bake. Baked pasta can be as fancy or as plain as you like and when you really go for it, it’s a guaranteed guest impresser. The sky’s the limit on this one! The concept is extremely simple as well. Just prepare your favorite tomato sauce, boil the pasta, but a few minutes less that usually required and prepare your add-ins. The add-ins are what make this a special dish. Traditionally, Italians add in cheeses such as mozzarella, parmesean and ricotta and small meat balls. I’ve also added in things like roasted eggplant and zucchini, chopped into bite size pieces, mushrooms, peas or sausage pieces. Whatever’s in season is the rule for me. This is also a good vegetarian meal if you exclude the meat balls or sausage.

Here’s a break down on how to put together a baked pasta.

You will need:
A double recipe of the basic tomato sauce
1 1/2 lbs of tubular pasta, like rigatoni, ziti or penne (although any past will work) cooked a few minutes less than required by the directions
½ cup of grated parmesan
9×13 baking pan or other large sized baking dish

Optional Ad-ins:
meatballs
1 cup fresh or shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
roasted or fried zucchini and/or eggplant, chopped into bite-sized pieces
sautéed mushrooms
boiled eggs, chopped (trust me, its good)
sausages, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Anything you want!

In the pan that you cooked the past in, combine pasta and tomato sauce. The pasta should be saucy, but not drowning in the sauce. The past will absorb some of the sauce as it bakes, so be sure it is generously covered.

Add a layer of the pasta in the bottom of your baking dish and then arrange part of your add-ins over it. Continue the process until the pasta fills the pan and the add-in are evenly distributed throughout. Sprinkle the parmesan on top of the pasta.

At this point you can freeze or refrigerate the pasta and just bring it to room temperature when you’re ready to bake.

Bake in a 350 oven uncovered for about 25-30 minutes. You want to monitor it’s progress to make sure the top isn’t getting too crispy. If it starts to brown too much, cover it with foil. You want to bake it long enough that it’s heated through and a little crunchy on top.

Bon Apetito!