The baked trofie with tomato, mozzarella, and béchamel sauce are a very simple but truly delicious first course. I believe this is the easiest recipe for baked pasta, a “smart recipe” for the series “how to bring something tasty and delicious to the table in the shortest time possible.” Baked pasta in summer? Baked pasta is always a must for me, no matter the season. If you really don’t want to turn on the oven, these delicious baked trofie can also be cooked in an air fryer.
Not to be missed
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
Both the sauce and the béchamel are abundant. For trofie or fresh pasta in general, I always consider twice the weight I would use for dry pasta.
- 7 oz tomato pulp
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 2 leaves fresh basil
- 2 cups milk
- 3.5 tbsps butter
- 1.5/1.75 oz all-purpose flour
- to taste nutmeg
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 14 oz trofie
- 8.8 oz mozzarella
- to taste grated Parmesan cheese
Tools
- 2 High-Sided Saucepans
- 1 Pasta Pot
- 1 Strainer
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Baking Dish
Steps
In a saucepan, heat the oil and let the garlic clove brown. Add the tomato pulp or, even better, the strained peeled tomatoes. Fragrance with basil and cook for 15 minutes. Season with salt.
In a large pan, heat the milk without bringing it to a boil. Separately, melt the butter over low heat, remove the pan from the heat, and add the flour, mixing it carefully (it’s important to perform this step off the heat, otherwise the flour would cook too quickly and create unpleasant lumps). Return the pan to the heat and let the flour cook for a few minutes while stirring with a wooden spoon. Then dilute everything by adding the hot milk gradually, stirring gently. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens and reaches cooking: it will take about 8/10 minutes. Before turning off the heat, add salt, a grind of pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.
Cut the mozzarella into cubes and let it drain inside a strainer placed over a bowl so that it loses some of its water. Boil the fresh trofie in plenty of salted water, drain al dente, and dress with the sauce and béchamel. Add the mozzarella, Parmesan, and mix well. Transfer the pasta into a baking dish. Sprinkle the surface with more grated Parmesan and bake in the oven at 356 °F for 25/30 minutes or until a nice golden crust forms on the surface.
Notes
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