Family Dinner- Pasta with Sweet Tomato Sauce and Baked Ricotta!
I love Jamie Oliver and his cookbooks. I don’t love this photo as it does not do justice to the TASTE of this great meal…but, I had to rush out the door with Ellie for a violin lesson and needed to take a quick shot of Wednesday night’s meal. This dish is a perfect example on how to avoid the tasteless pasta that so many American kids eat…noodles with butter. You what I am talking about, right?
You can find this recipe in Jamie’s dinners on page 187.
You need:
1# piece of ricotta cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 flat tsp. oregano
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
a knob of butter (I love that description!)
2 14 oz. of good quality plum tomatoes
3 T. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. sugar
1# pappardelle or other wide ribbon pasta
a handful of basil
2 handfuls of fresh Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 400. Rub the ricotta all over with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, place on a baking tray (if you have a small baking dish or casserole dish, this will prevent the cheese from oozing all over the tray) and cook in the oven for 20 minutes until golden and firm. In a pan, slowly fry the onion and garlic in the butter and a good drizzle of olive oil. Cook for 4 minutes until sweet and softened. Add the tomatoes, simmer gently for about 15 minutes, then break up tomatoes with a spoon. Add the balsamic vinegar and the sugar and stir.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions. Toss the pasta with the tomato sauce. Add Parmesan and basil to your liking. Crumble ricotta over the top or serve separate and let everyone serve themselves.
You will love this dish and never order pasta at a restaurant again. And your kids will never want the boring butter and pasta combo again. I served this with a salad and fresh bread…Nathan added some meat (chicken sausage) and ate less pasta because of his diabetes, but everyone was fed and happy. And we got to Ellie’s lesson on time.
Now, go make dinner! This would be a perfect weekend meal!
By the way, last night while waiting for Ellie at her violin lesson, I used my “dinner card” method and it literally took me 10 minutes to make my list with time to spare. I love it and thanks to all of you with your kind comments. What meal do you all want to see next? Let me know!