CHEESY BAKED PASTA WITH CRÈME FRAÎCHE

Cheesy baked pasta with crème fraîche -- Gemelli pasta enclosed under some fresh tomatoes, drizzles of fresh crème fraîche with some cheese fillings and garnished with some fresh chops of salad veggies for a really delicious meal. So tell me if there is anything not to enjoy about this palatable dish ~~~

Well, if you haven't tried a cheesy baked pasta in the past, now is the time to try something a bit more engaging, fulfilling and captivating. Of course when I decided to make this dish, gemelli pasta was the first type of pasta that came to mind because I wanted something a lot more unique. Moreover, I didn't want it too cheesy so I decided to use only grated cheddar cheese but if you really want those stretchy, drawwyy cheese, then use a combination of mascarpone, parmesan and mozzarella cheese during preparation.

Preparing this dish wasn't that time-consuming at all, even if you have just few minutes to spare and your oven is quite intact, you are sure to get this dish ready within 30 minutes.  But because I wasn't in a hurry, I took my time to get this dish ready and to my satisfaction but then that doesn't mean I spent a whole lot of time preparing it.

What you have to do is to firstly parboil the pasta with boiling water, salt and few drops of vegetable oil to prevent the pasta from being sticky. Once you've parboiled the pasta for at least 5 minutes, pour in a colander to drain the water. While the pasta is parboiling, quickly, halve the baby plum tomatoes, mix the crème fraîche with water and set them all aside. So by the time the pasta has parboiled, then it is almost as good as ready to be popped into the oven for some really nice bake. JUST AS SIMPLE AS THAT!!!

Once the pasta has been drained, pour into an oven dish, scatter those halved tomatoes over the pasta, pour the crème fraîche over the pasta, drizzle with vegetable oil and ALAS ~~~ Now is the time to scatter those grated cheddar cheese over the pasta to give it a nice and beautiful coverage. Afterwards, pop the pasta into a pre-heated oven of 180-200 oC and bake until piping hot with the cheese turning golden colour in appearance.

I can assure you that the finished product was definitely worth my time and I thought the baked pasta looked perfect for a fulfilling dinner or lunch that can even be made in large quantity, stored in the fridge and obviously can be easily pulled out of the freezer anytime you want to fix a quick meal.

I just love the tweak of ingredients which made it a WINNING dish  

So gemelli pasta, cheese, fresh tomatoes and vegetable oil is therefore a no brainer for me!!! Honestly, cheese and pasta is just a perfect combination you would definitely want to give a shot asap. Although I've been shying away from making this dish for sometimes now owing to my long list of recipes I'd already had in the pipeline to make but thank goodness that I've gotten around to making it and am quite happy I've done so.

Among my favourite lists of ingredients is the cheese ~ ~ ~  I love cheese, any type, any colour, it doesn't just really matter. JUST BRING IT ON!

This baked pasta with creme fraiche turned out super gooey and absolutely tasty. I chose cheddar cheese to go with the crème fraîche and I think I chose a lovely combination that totally satisfied my taste-bud.

The baked pasta turned out extremely light with thick pillowy top layers, courtesy of the tomatoes and surrounded by some outer golden crispy layers.

Such an inviting and beautiful combination that is worth admiring, appreciating and constantly staring at. But I can assure you that you can't sustain admiring this dish for a very long time without graciously feasting on it within seconds. This is just owing to the aromatic flavour oozing out from the dish, courtesy of the cheese as well as the enticing sight that will make your taste-bud go wwwwaaaaoooozzzzaaaaaaa!!! WALLA --- Enjoy!

Garnishing it with a little bit of green chopped lettuce was just the icing on the cake and pairing it with some salad made it a completely balanced meal.

I love salad on basically every food. I just enjoy having some sort of fresh vegetables to top off my food with and it has NEVER EVER Disappointed me. Although it is totally optional not to garnish the dish with some fresh salad but I can assure you that it is a PERFECT combination.

I can confidently say that this dish turned out quite SUPERB, DELECTABLE, APPETIZING, TOOTHSOME, MOUTH-WATERING & INVITING!!!  Sooooooo, don't skip this recipe!!! Be sure to give it a shot and I bet you won't be disappointed at all. Personally, I think this is a dish I will definitely do again because it is a great accomplishment.

I have no doubt you will surely enjoy it as the final outcome is just mind-blowing. BTW, please don’t hesitate to share your opinions in the comment box. Every opinion counts!!!

Loads of Love from Blessing :D

• Recipe
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Ingredients:

• 400g gemelli pasta
• 250g mix of tomatoes halved
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 200ml water
• 200g crème fraîche
• 200g grated cheddar cheese
• ½ Lettuce sliced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 11 bowl salad

Instructions:

1. Add the pasta in a pot, pour boiling water to cover the pasta, add the vegetable stock cube, salt and vegetable oil then parboil for 5 minutes.
2. Bring down the parboiled pasta from heat, pour into a colander to drain off the water then turn into an oven dish.
3. Scatter the tomatoes over the pasta, mix the crème fraîche with 200 ml water then pour the mixture over the pasta.
4. Scatter the grated cheddar cheese over the pasta and place in a preheated oven of 180-200 oC.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pasta is piping hot and the cheese turned golden colour in appearance.
6. Bring out the baked pasta from the oven and serve warm garnished with some fresh salad.

• Servings : 4
• Ready in : 30 Minutes
• Course : MAIN
• Recipe Type : Dinner

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