Recipe: Make restaurant-style Baked Cheesy Pasta at home with a health twist

They say pasta is like a duct tape, it fixes everything and we couldn't agree more because eating pasta makes us wonder where did all our problems go. Since home for us is where pasta is, we decided to dig up a lip-smacking pasta recipe to nurse our Monday blues.

Life is about exploring pasta-bilities and if you are looking for a quick weeknight dinner, this Baked Cheesy Pasta promises to be a crowd pleaser. Check out its easy recipe below and thank us later.

Ingredients:

Ziti /Penne pasta – 250 gms

Tomatoes, blanched – 5 medium

Onions (chopped and sliced ) – 3 medium each

Garlic (chopped) – 10 cloves

Basil leaves – ¼ cup

Spinach leaves (blanched) – 1 bundle

Cottage cheese (grated) – 1 cup

Grated cheese – 1 cup

Cheese Sauce – 1 cup

Dry herbs – ¼ cup

Salt – to taste

Pepper – a pinch

Sunflower oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

Boil Ziti/Penne pasta till al dente with a little salt . Remove from hot water and keep aside in cool water.

For the pasta sauce – Blanch tomatoes. Heat oil in a pan, add chopped onions and garlic (half of the qty above), add blanched tomatoes, salt, basil , peppercorns, mix herbs and ¼ of fresh basil.

Let it cook till the tomatoes are completely cooked and mashed. Cool down and blend it till smooth. In another pan, heat godrej oil ,saute onions and garlic. Add blanched spinach, salt and saute it for a few minutes. 

Keep aside and let it cool down. Take a baking dish, grease it with some sunflower oil and layer the bottom with pasta sauce, then the pasta topped with spinach mixture. 

Add the grated or crumbled cottage cheese, grated cheese and sprinkle dry herbs. Repeat this layer for 2 times or till it reaches the top level of your baking dish and finally layer top with cheese sauce and herbs.

Bake it at 135°C for 15 minutes till the top layer is gratinated. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with garlic bread.

(Recipe: Godrej Group)

Benefits:

Apart from being cheap and easy to prepare if not served raw, spinach is known to contain 28.1 milligrams of vitamin C in a 100-gram serving as per the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Since it is high in fiber and water, it promotes a healthy digestive tract by preventing constipation.

The leaves of spinach are also rich in protein, iron, vitamins and minerals. The vitamin A in it moisturises the skin and hair while the vitamin C in it provides structure to skin and hair and the iron content keeps hair loss at bay.

It not only helps in managing diabetes and preventing cancer but also helps prevent asthma and lowers blood pressure.

Paneer or cottage cheese is loaded with the goodness of healthy fats and milk proteins and helps builds a strong immune system which is on everyone’s top priority currently amid the Covid-19 pandemic, aids in the normal functioning of the digestive system and builds better bones and teeth courtesy its rich calcium content. It is not only an essential component in weight loss programs but is also an ideal food for diabetic patients and reduces the risk of cancer.