An excellent comfort food for these cold winter months. It makes your whole house smell so good! Paired with breaded chicken breasts, salad, and some good Italian bread, this is lovely to serve at a dinner party.
Ingredients
1 box whole wheat penne
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small sweet onion, minced
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
4-5 cups of tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon dried basil
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Tablespoons flour
2 cups 2% milk
1 bay leaf
a pinch of nutmeg
1-2 cups of finely shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
salt and pepper to your taste
non-stick olive oil cooking spray
dried parsley (optional, decoration)
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with the non-stick olive oil cooking spray. Rip a piece of aluminum foil big enough to cover the baking dish. Spray the non-shiny side with the non-stick olive oil spray also. This will prevent the cheese from sticking during the baking process.
Cook the pasta according to the package's al dente directions. Do not cook past al dente or the pasta will become mushy during the baking process.
In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions to the hot oil and saute until tender. Turn down heat to low and add the garlic. Saute for about 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, basil, salt, and pepper. Allow to simmer on low.
In a medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat melt the butter. Do not allow it to brown! Using a wire whisk, add the flour and whisk for about 1-2 minutes until very well combined. Continuing to whisk, add the milk slowly. Whisk in the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Drop in the bay leaf. Bring to a slow boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Do not scald! Remove the bay leaf and pour into the large sauce pan of red sauce, mixing well.
Add the pasta and the grated Parmesan to the large sauce pan of sauce, mixing gently and thoroughly. Transfer to the sprayed baking dish, spreading evenly in pan. Sprinkle mozzarella liberally, and to your preference on the amount, over the top of the pasta. Lastly, sprinkle with a little dried parsley to decorate. Cover with the sprayed foil. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes covered. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Serve hot and enjoy.
***The leftovers of this dish are excellent and even more flavorful than when first made!
***I use alot of sauce, so it seems. However, during the baking process of any pasta dish, the pasta absorbs the sauce. Thus, the reason for cooking the pasta to al dente and then adding tons of sauce. This prevents a mushy and dry baked pasta experience. TRUST ME!!
