Baking pasta with cheese on top creates a chewy and crispy topping kids will love. You can assemble the dish ahead and refrigerate it, then bake it right before dinner.
Ingredients
serves 4 to 62 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme or oregano
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
2 pounds ravioli
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon, until the sauce is thickened and reduced to about 5 1/2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, cook the ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water just until they float to the top (the pasta will continue to cook in the oven). Drain the pasta; return to the pot.
Step 3
Toss the sauce with the pasta. Pour the pasta into a large gratin dish or 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with the cheeses. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.
substituting spaghetti
Step 4
Try this recipe with a pound of spaghetti (cook a few minutes less than the package instructions direct). Don’t worry if it seems like there’s too much sauce; it will be absorbed as the pasta bakes.Reprinted with permission from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Copyright © 2007 by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Martha Stewart Living magazine was first published in 1990. Over the years, more than two dozen books have been published by the magazine's editors.Martha Stewart is the author of dozens of best-selling books on cooking, entertaining, gardening, weddings, and decorating. She is the host of The Martha Stewart Show, the successful daily syndicated television show.