Baked pasta

Last night I made a wonderful baked pasta dish, and I thought I'd share the recipe.

Ingredients: 1 medium white onion / 2-3 cloves of garlic / olive oil / 2-3 big cans of Italian plum tomatoes / pasta Orecchiette, Ziti, or something of the like / salt, pepper, other spices / lots of fresh grated Parmesan cheese / 9 ounces of fresh Mozzarella.

Preheat oven to 450. Chop a white onion and two cloves of garlic. Add these to an already heated skillet with olive oil and sauté for 5-10 minutes. When the onions are soft and a little bit clear, add 24 oz of skinned Italian plum tomatoes and stir. Simmer for 20 minutes. Start a pot of salted water boiling and cook pasta one minute less than the package says.(I used Ziti, but the recipe called for Orecchiette). You'll need to time this so that the pasta has about 2-3 minutes to go when the sauce is done. After the sauce has simmered for 20 minutes, remove- add sea salt, pepper, dried chili, other spices to taste-- and puree in a blender. When pasta is done, remove and drain. Place pasta in a large dish and add a handful of grated Parmesan cheese and half of the sauce. Mix together well. Splash some olive oil in a baking pan and add a third of the pasta, a layer of Parmesan cheese (handful) and fresh mozzarella. Repeat this until all ingredients are used and top with a layer of the fresh mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes or until bubbly and a little crispy brown on top. Eat. This should serve about 5-7 people.