A whole meal in itself and a very delicious recipe, very popular with the little ones. I remember this dish from many a childhood Sunday meal. You can use short pasta too for this one, macaroni is specially good as it retains the sauce better and makes for a more moist casserole.

Time: 40 Mins
Difficulty: Advanced
Serve: 6 people

Before starting to cook: Oil a baking a 3-inch tall baking pan. Pre-heat up oven to 300 °F (150 °C).

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of boiled spaghetti
• 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 12 very ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 green pepper diced into very small cubes
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• 1 pinch of oregano
• 1 tablespoon of basil finely diced
• 1/2 cup of seeded olives, cut into slices
• 1/2 cup of capers
• 1 cup of cream (or evaporated milk)
• Salt

Preparation:

1. Sautee the tomatoes in the oil, add the oregano, basil, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Add half a cup of water and the tomato paste. Let simmer until the tomatoes are very tender. Simmer until the sauce is thick. Reserve.
   
2. Boil the pasta al dente.
   
3. Reheat half the tomato sauce. Mix in capers and olives. Add half the cheese and half the tomato sauce and mix well. Add the spaghetti and cream and mix well. Bake covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes. Cool down for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
   
4. Garnish with the remaining tomato sauce. Serve with green salad.

I prepared this yesterday (I needed to make a new picture) and I rekindled my love for this childhood favorite. With excuses to the Italians.

This looks very interesting. Could it be prepared in advance and heated later? I am looking for some recipes that can be made in advance. I have friends who play professional baseball here in the US and am looking for something that could made in advance and popped in the oven after their game so they are not trying to prepare a meal at 11 at night. I have also ordered your cookbook and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. Thanks so much.

Actually this dish is perfect for reheating. And in my opinion it does taste better re-heated.