I realize that many people are afraid to veer from a recipe and I admit I used to be one of them. I would follow it as exactly as I could, trying not to leave out any ingredients, finding myself at the store buying things we didn’t usually use. This can be a good thing in a way, for a time, because it’s how we learn to cook, how we learn what we like, and it’s also how we realize we can make changes based on what’s available in our kitchen. I have written before that our cooking lesson in Morocco taught me the importance of using what you have rather than running out all the time to buy more items when your kitchen is already stocked.
This pasta bake originally came from the New York Times and I made several alterations, especially because we had our first freeze and we had quite a few small yellow tomatoes plus a nice amount of fresh basil, oregano, and thyme. I added mushrooms and zucchini, but halved the pasta. This also can be put together one day and placed in the fridge overnight. That gives the flavors more time to meld and will make it more flavorful when you bake and serve it.
Ricotta Vegetable Pasta Bake
2 pints small tomatoes
1 onion, diced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 zucchini, sliced and then quartered
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh or dried oregano, basil, and/or thyme
Garlic Powder
Half pound pasta of your choice (my choice is almost always elbows)
1 pound ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, zucchini, olive oil, salt pepper, seasonings of your choice, and garlic. Spread in a greased baking dish and bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to split and the vegetables look roasted.
While that bakes, cook pasta and drain.
When the vegetables and pasta are ready, add the pasta to the vegetable mixture in the baking dish and combine. Add the ricotta– you can mix it up or layer it on top (what I did). Then spread the Parmesan and the bread crumbs. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the top begins to look golden.
