Bake Cheese & Tomato Marcaroni

It's fun to cook different dishes every single day! But I have to check the recipe first becasue I don't want to get any ingredient that only use for once. I started to grow some herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage) in the patio, so I can have some fresh one in hand all the time.

I found this simple recipe in one of my cook book. You don't need a lot of fancy ingredients...easy to find it in any grocery store/supermarket.

BAKED CHEESE & TOMATO MACARONI

225 g/8 oz/2 cups elbow macaroni

175 g/6 oz/1 1/2 cups grated vegetarian cheese

100 g/3 1/2 oz/1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs

1 tbsp chopped basil

1 tbsp butter or margarine

Tomato sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

450 g/1 lb canned chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp chopped basil

salt & black pepper

1. 
   
   To make the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the shallots and garlic for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper to taste and cook over a medium heat, stirring, for 10 minutes.


2. 
   
   Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in a pan of boiling salted water for 8 minutes or until just undercooked. Drain.


3. 
   
   Mix both of the cheese together.


4. 
   
   Grease a deep, ovenproof dish. spoon a third of the base of the dish, top with a third of the macaroni and then a third of the cheeses. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat the layers twice.


5. 
   
   Combine the breadcrumbs and basil and sprinkle over the top. Dot with the butter or margarine and cook in a preheated oven, 190 C/375 F/Gas Mark 5, for 25 minutes or until the dish to golden brown and bubbling. Serve.

Note: Use other pasta shapes, such as penne, if you have them to hand, instead of macaroni. Other kinds of cheese can be subsituted the vegetarian cheese (such as Montery Jack, Chedder etc).