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Wednesday, 11 March 2015

The Simplicity of a Pasta Bake



Baking is one of the healthiest ways to cook any kind of food. Dietary fiber, on the other hand, is one of the healthiest things one can ingest. If there is anything healthier than these two, it's combining these two together. A pasta bake is a health buff's perfect meal, with goodness and health together in one. But the many baked pasta recipes available not only serve the health conscious market, but everyone else as well.

Pasta that can be baked is called pasta al forno. This type of pasta is the most ideal for baking. The most popular of al forno pastas are rigatoni and ziti. Al forno is actually the Italian term that means "from the oven". It is a very common cooking term and applies to other food like pizza and bread that were cooked by oven baking. This is in contrast to the usual way of cooking pasta, al dente.

It is relatively easier to bake pasta than to cook it conventionally. This is because after mixing in all the ingredients and leaving the pasta in the oven, all you have to do is wait. Of course, it is only right to check on the baking every few minutes to make sure dish doesn't burn. But aside from that, your hands are pretty much free.

Pasta bake recipes are everywhere. And surely, there is one for everyone. Whatever your preference, you can use either white or red sauce on your oven baked pasta. They can have all sorts of ingredients. Seafood like shrimps, clams and tuna are no stranger to baked pastas. Meat, like ground beef, is also a favorite ingredient. Vegetables can also be part of the mix, as you can put in mushrooms and beans on your pasta.

A baked pasta dish that can be a treat for vegetarians is the Baked Spinach Cannelloni, with its pasta tubes stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach. For a good protein refueling, athletic ones can go for a Baked Ziti with Tuna before a session at the gym. And for regular food lovers, only the tomato-enveloped, beef-sprinkled and mozzarella-topped Baked Meat Lasagna will be good enough.
One of the best things about baked pasta is that it has longer shelf life than regularly cooked pasta. Regular pasta can easily spoil a day or two after being cooked. It is a great left over dish and can last longer, if stored properly.


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