Sun-Dried Tomato and Black Olive Baked Spaghetti
Baked Spaghetti isnโt necessarily an obvious Italian dish, youโre more likely to see a spaghetti frittata which is made using leftover spaghetti, cheese and eggs. I wanted to experiment as itโs not a shape youโd usually turn to for a pasta bake but this combination of sun-dried tomatoes and black olives makes a tasty choice when baked with mozzarella on top.
For this dish Iโm using Garofaloโs Spaghettone Gragnanese, which is thicker than your traditional spaghetti, I think it holds the sauce well and makes it perfect for baking in this dish.
To add an extra umami punch of flavour I recommend using the anchovy in this recipe, even if you think youโre not a fan(!), or if youโre vegetarian you can leave it out.
I use creme fraiche in the sauce as I find this combines well (I use reduced fat as my preference) but you could always substitute for cream or a soft cheese like Philadelphia.
Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 200g Garofalo Spaghettone Gragnanese
- Olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic, clove finely sliced
- 1 anchovy
- 50g pitted black olives
- 50-60g sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 tsp tomato purรฉe
- 2 tbsps creme fraiche
- 50g grated mozzarella
- Pinch of chilli flakes
- Fresh basil
- Freshly grated parmesan
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius (fan).
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil, salt the water and add the Spaghettone
- While the pasta begins cooking, prep your other ingredients.
- In a small blender add your sun dried tomatoes and give them a quick blitz. Then add 2tbsps of creme fraiche and 1tsp of tomato puree and blitz again for 10 - 15 seconds.
- Once the pasta has been cooking for 10 minutes, add a good plug (at least 1tbsp of olive oil) to the pan and on a low heat add your shallot and anchovy, allow to cook slowly until the shallot starts to soften.
- Next add the garlic, a pinch of chilli flakes and the olives. Then add the sun-dried tomato sauce to the pan and a splash of pasta water to loosen it. Tear in some fresh basil leaves and season with black pepper.
- The pasta should be ready now so ideally using a spaghetti spoon or tongs transfer the spaghettone to the pan so it carries some pasta water with it. Combine together and if needed add another splash (about 25ml) of pasta water to the pan and combine.
- In an oven dish spoon in half the mixture to cover the base, then scatter with half the grated mozzarella. Add the other half of spaghettone and top with the rest of the mozzarella. Finish by grating a layer of fresh parmesan on top.
- Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes until browned on top. Leave to rest for a couple fo minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
341.62Fat (grams)
23.55Sat. Fat (grams)
8.55Carbs (grams)
20.71Fibre (grams)
4.69Net carbs
16.02Sugar (grams)
12.38Protein (grams)
16.25Sodium (milligrams)
825.6Cholesterol (grams)
38.23Values per whole meal
An easy recipe using casarecce pasta, combining the sweetness and freshness of cherry tomatoes, the heat of chilli and balanced with tangy feta and basil