Pasta pomodoro with baked ricotta

This pasta dish uses a basic tomato sauce, which I have used in other recipes as well. Combined with the baked ricotta that I have also made before, only with a slight twist to it this time (I added sundried tomatoes to the mix).

The sweetness of the sauce will depend on the quality of your tinned tomatoes. Of course you can use fresh tomatoes as well. Or you can use both.

The ricotta is baked separately with herbs and olive oil and is then crumbled over the top of the pasta pomodoro – and it literally melts in your mouth!

 U need (serves 2-3)

6 garlic cloves

1 onion

700 grams of good quality canned tomatoes

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

1 teaspoon of dried basil

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

2 spoons of sugar

250 grams of ricotta

a big handful of basil leaves

1 red chili pepper

5 sundried tomatoes

a dash of lemon juice

olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

freshly grated parmesan cheese

How to make it

Start with preparing the tomato sauce, because the longer is sits on a low heat, the better it will be (even up to 2 hours)

Chop up the onion and 3 cloves of garlic. Fry them in a sauce pan in some olive oil for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften. Then add the tomatoes, season everything with the dried oregano, dried basil, salt and pepper. Close the lid and let it boil very gently for about 10 minutes.

Then add the sugar and the balsamic vinegar. Remember to taste the sauce every time you add a new ingredient and then adjust the amounts. If after adding the sugar it is too sweet, add more balsamic vinegar. If it is too sour, add more sugar.

Close the lid and let the sauce boil very gently, stirring every now and then, for at least 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C.

You are going to need a blender for this. If you don’t have a blender, just chop everything up really well.

If you do have one, pour about 6-8 tablespoons of olive oil into the blender, add 3 cloves of peeled garlic, the fresh basil leaves, the chili pepper, the sundried tomatoes, about half a tablespoon of sea salt and a dash of lemon juice. Blend everything until you obtain a sauce-like mixture (it does not have to be perfectly smooth).

Put a piece aluminum foil on a baking tray and place the ricotta on it. Pour the mixture over the ricotta and rub it in gently. Cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes - until nice and firm.

While the ricotta is in the oven, you can start preparing the pasta according to the instructions on the package. You can use any past you like, but somehow I find that tagliatelle work best with this recipe.

When everything is ready, pour the sauce over the pasta, crumble the baked ricotta over the sauce and grate over a little parmesan.

 Buon appetito!