Baked rigatoni with cheese and tomatoes

Since we are all pretty much tucked in, here is an easy indulgence for you to cook over the weekend – Baked rigatoni. By the looks of how serious the situation is getting, even weekdays. I have always marvelled over these longitudinally baked pasta recipes. And always thought of how complicated it would be. Well, looks are deceptive. And it was just a matter of actually going through with it. Much like the lasagna, I baked.

Follow the easy 30-minute recipe for cheesy baked rigatoni. Try rigatoni with flambeed vodka here.

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Ingredients

• Rigatoni – 2 cups
• Veeba Pasta sauce – 3 tbsp
• Mozzarella cheese – 1 cup
• Cheddar cheese – 1 tbsp
• Oregano seasoning – 1 tbsp
• Salt – to taste
• Onion – 1, medium
• Garlic cloves – 2
• Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Method

• In a pan, boil pasta with a pinch of salt until al dente. Rigatoni takes about 10 minutes to cook. Drain and reserve half a cup of pasta water to cook with later.
• Peel, wash and finely slice the onion and garlic cloves.
• Heat olive oil in a pan, add the sliced onion and garlic and cook till transparent.
• Add the pasta, sauce and mix well.
• Pour in the pasta water, mix well and cook on high heat to reduce to a thick sauce.
• Add the cheddar cheese and mix well.
• While the pasta cooks, pre-heat the oven for 250 degrees for about 10 minutes.
• Transfer the cooked pasta to Borosil/ bake-proof dish.
• Now, this is this tricky part, using a small spatula, start lining up the rigatoni on the edge of the dish and work your way in. Rigatoni is tubular pasta and stands quite easily.
• Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and oregano generously.
• Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes or until the cheese starts boiling.
• Rest for 5 minutes in the over before delving in!