Spaghetti Bake
This hearty, cheesy pasta bake from Mateo Zielonka is elevated with plenty of fresh herbs and both Cheddar and mozzarella to make it extra oozy and delicious. It's the perfect family friendly recipe that everyone will love.
Introduction
I arrived home late one day to the welcoming fragrance of sweet onions and cheese. It turned out there was a pasta bake in the oven, which my partner had made using a recipe from a seventies cookbook by Rose Elliot, a pioneer of vegetarian cookery. I had never seen the book before; it had a purple cover with a smiling bean cartoon on the front – very retro – and the recipe was made with wholemeal pasta, Cheddar and canned tomatoes. I may have raised an eyebrow, but it tasted so, so good – I should think I ate at least half the dishful. This recipe is my version with the addition of garlic, mozzarella and herbs, but it’s cooked the same way, in a very low oven for a couple of hours. Easy prep and two hours of free time before dinner. Dreamy.
Ingredients
| 170g/6oz | dried wholemeal spaghetti |
| 50g/2oz | butter |
| 4 | onions, sliced into crescent moons |
| 3 | garlic cloves, thinly sliced |
| 1 tsp | dried oregano |
| 2 x 400g/14oz tins of | chopped tomatoes |
| 4 sprigs of | mint, leaves picked and shredded |
| 125g/4oz | mozzarella, cubed (block mozzarella is good, then freeze the rest) |
| ½ tsp | table salt |
| 75g/2½oz | Cheddar, coarsely grated |
Method
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for 10 minutes until soft, stirring from time to time. Add a generous pinch of salt, a few twists of black pepper and the oregano, stir together and cook for a further minute. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Meanwhile, tip the tomatoes into a bowl, add the mint, mozzarella cubes and salt, and combine well.
Preheat the oven to 130°C fan/300°F/gas mark 2.
Spread the onions evenly across the bottom of a baking dish (mine is around 28 x 23 x 6cm/11 x 9 x 2½in). Break the strands of spaghetti in half (trust me on this) and spread them over the top of the onions – it will look like you’re about to play pick-up sticks – then pour the tomato sauce over the top. Poke any stray pasta strands under the sauce (or they won’t cook properly) and scatter over the grated Cheddar.
Cover the dish with kitchen foil and bake in the oven for 2 hours. When the time is up, remove the bake from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes. Remove the foil and serve.
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