Recipe: Creamy Baked Pasta Rosa

We’ve had turkey twice this month, tons of pumpkin and cranberry and all the usual holiday favorites. To be honest, I have to say that I’m ready to move on in the dinner department. It felt like time for a little pasta, so I played around in the kitchen until I found a recipe that satisfied my craving for cream sauce and my love for tomatoes. The result? Creamy baked pasta rosa…a blend of cream sauce, melted cheese, and diced tomatoes that smells great in the oven and tastes even better! A side salad rounds this meal out perfectly. Post-Christmas break from leftover turkey? Check. New recipe that the kids love? Double-check!
Start with fresh, healthy ingredients:  Raw milk mozzarella and Parmesan, cage-free eggs, fresh organic garlic, whole wheat or brown rice noodles, raw cream and organic tomatoes. While your noodles boil on the stove, start the sauce: Saute the tomatoes in a cast iron skillet until they are soft. Stir together the raw cream and a little flour (gluten free works fine), then add it to the tomatoes. Heat until it’s steaming and starts to thicken, then add some herbs and garlic. Stir together over the heat for a few minutes, then set aside.

Drain the noodles, and toss them with a beaten egg and some of the grated cheeses. Pour the sauce over the noodles and stir well, then pour the mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Pop it in the oven, and 20 minutes later you’ll be ready to eat! Simple, elegant, and healthy all in one.

Creamy Baked Pasta Rosa

Ingredients:
8 cups dry noodles (shown are brown rice penne noodles, whole wheat also work well)
1 cup raw organic cream
3 tablespoons organic flour (I used rice flour)
6-8 whole organic tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups, include any juice from the tomatoes as well)
3 cloves organic garlic, peeled and pressed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 cage-free organic egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups shredded raw, organic mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded raw, organic Parmesan cheese
Sea salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
Looking for quality real food ingredients? Be sure to the check out the Village Green Marketplace
Directions:
1. Start some water boiling in a large pot, and cook the noodles as the package recommends. Start the sauce as the noodles cook.
2. Saute the diced tomatoes  in a cast iron skillet until they are soft and cooked through.
3. In a measuring cup, whisk the flour into the raw cream. Pour over the tomatoes and cook, whisking, continually, until the mixture starts to steam and thicken.
4. Remove from heat, add the garlic and oregano, and salt to taste. Set aside.
5. Drain the cooked noodles and return them to the pot. Toss the beaten egg, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese with the hot noodles (add some ground black pepper if you’d like.)
6. Pour the sauce over the noodles, and stir until combined.
7. Spread the noodle mixture into a large baking dish, and sprinkle the remaining cheeses over the noodles.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20  minutes, or until the cheeses are melted and begin to brown.