Pastelón de Espaguetis [Recipe] Spaghetti Casserole

Spaghetti casserole (pastelón de espagueti).

Pastelón de Espaguetis [Recipe] Spaghetti Casserole

This pastelón de espaguetis recipe (spaghetti casserole is a whole meal in itself and a very delicious one. I will be very popular with the little ones.

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Dominican, Fusion, Italian

Keyword million dollar spaghetti casserole, spaghetti noodles casserole

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Total Time 50

Servings portions

Calories 354kcal

Author Clara Gonzalez

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
½ pound spaghetti or short pasta of your choice [0.23 kg]
1½ tablespoon salt (or more, to taste), divided
12 large tomato peeled and diced
1 oregano (dry, ground)
3 tablespoons basil finely chopped
1 small red onion grated
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 minced bell pepper
2 cups tomato sauce
½ cup capers
½ cup pitted green olives cut into slices
½ cup parmesan cheese (grated)
¼ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground) (or more, to taste)
A few basil leaves for decoration
½ cup mozzarella cheese (grated)

Instructions

1. Boil pasta

In a large pot, boil the pasta al dente, adding a tablespoon of salt to the water.
Drain the pasta water, save some to add to the sauce later.

2. Make tomato pasta sauce

In a heavy saucepan heat the remaining oil over low heat. Cook and stir the tomatoes, oregano, chopped basil, garlic, onion, and bell peppers over low heat until the tomatoes are tender.
Add ½ cup water and tomato sauce. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Set aside half of the tomato sauce for serving. Mix in capers and olives with the tomato sauce.

3. Mixing pasta and sauce

Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste and pour it into a large mixing bowl.
Add the spaghetti to the tomato sauce and mix well. Add parmesan cheese and mix.

4. Pour into mold

Pour in the pasta into a 6" [15 cm] non-stick pan or lasagna baking dish. Lightly press with a fork to compact. Top with the mozzarella.
Cover with aluminum foil for 20 minutes.

5. Bake

Heat oven to 300 °F [150 °C].
Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving

6. Serve

Garnish with basil and the tomato sauce you had reserved.

Notes

You can use short pasta too for this one, macaroni is especially good as it retains the sauce better and makes for a moister casserole.

Nutrition