Paccheri alla sorrentina

Receta en español aquí

I discovered this dish in my  travel to Rome, when I was at home I found out the recipe and here you have now this wonderful dish. It is very easy, tasty and perfect for kids.

Ingredients (4 servings)

400 g Paccheri or another short-cut pasta

4 ripe tomatoes (800-900 g)

1 medium onion (180 g)

1 small carrot (50 g)

2 cloves of garlic

250 g fresh Mozzarella

100 g Maasdam cheese (or provolone)

Salt and pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

Fresh basil to taste, set aside some leaves for garnish

Directions

Wash well tomatoes, peel and grate.

Chop finely onion, garlic, carrot and basil, reserving a few basil leaves for garnish.

Cut the mozzarella into cubes and grate the Maasdam cheese.

In a large skillet pour a good splash of extra virgin olive oil, add the onion, garlic and carrot and stir fry until golden.

Then add the grated tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste and stir well, let it simmer at low heat around 10-15 minutes.  Later when tomatoes are done add the chopped basil (I put a lot because the secret of this recipe is that)

Taste the tomato sauce and add more salt, pepper or basil if necessary.

In the meantime cook the pasta in plenty of salted water following the package instructions.

Preheat oven at 350ºF.

When sauce is done you can use a food mill, or blend it with an handheld blender, to give it a smooth consistency.

 Drain the pasta when is al dente and put it into a ovenproof dish. Pour over the paccheri the tomato sauce with basil, and sprinkle with grated cheese and mozzarella cubes, set aside some cubes to garnish.

Place in the oven until cheese is melt.

Serve the pasta with its sauce and mozzarella cubes above, and garnish with some fresh basil leaves.

And enjoy! Buon apettito!