Pasta alla Formiana

I recently joined “20 something bloggers”. It’s a great community for bloggers who are just starting out, or if you’ve been doing it for years.
I’ve found some wonderful new blogs to follow, and have received some followers as well!

“20sb” is holding their ninth blog swap. This last week we were assigned our swap partners, and next Wednesday we swap.
My partner is Desiree Fawn from “so fawned” blog. Her blog is adorable, and I can’t wait for you to read what she has to say!

This dish is a little interesting, you put the un-cooked pasta in the oven, and all the moisture from the tomatoes cooks the pasta. So no cooking the past in boiling water, which will save you time.
The only thing I would change in the recipe is the amount of oregano, next time I will only add 1/8 cup.

Pasta alla Formiana

*Butter, for greasing dish
*1 (28-ounce) can crushed
tomatoes
*1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped *1 pound mezze penne or other small pasta
*1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
*1/4 cup dried oregano
*3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
*about 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
*2 teaspoons kosher salt
*1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
*4 to 5 very ripe, extra-large or beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

In a food processor, blend together the crushed tomatoes and garlic. Pour into a medium bowl and add the uncooked pasta, balsamic vinegar, pepper flakes,1/3 cup olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Toss until all the ingredients are coated.

Line the bottom and sides of the baking dish with tomato slices. Pour the pasta mixture into the pan and spread evenly. Arrange the remaining tomato slices in an overlapping layer on top of the pasta mixture, making sure the mixture is completely covered. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake until the tomatoes are slightly crispy and the pasta is cooked, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

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