Baked Four-Cheese Pasta With Tomatoes and Basil

"A great dish to serve as a side dish, or add a salad you have have a great meal! Recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated."
 
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photo by Dr. Jenny photo by Dr. Jenny
photo by Dr. Jenny
photo by Midwest Maven photo by Midwest Maven
photo by FDADELKARIM photo by FDADELKARIM
Ready In:
35mins
Ingredients:
17
Serves:
6-8
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ingredients

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directions

  • For the topping:

  • Pulse bread in food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about ten 1-second pulses (you should have about 1 1/2 cups).
  • Transfer to small bowl; stir in Parmesan, salt, and pepper.
  • Set mixture aside.
  • For the pasta:

  • Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
  • Bring 4 quarts water to rolling boil in stockpot.
  • Combine cheeses in large bowl; set aside.
  • Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water; stir to separate pasta.
  • While pasta is cooking, melt butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat; whisk flour into butter until no lumps remain, about 30 seconds.
  • Gradually whisk in cream, add tomatoes, and increase heat to medium, and bring to boil, stirring occasionally; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 minute to ensure that flour cooks.
  • Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper; cover cream mixture to keep hot and set aside.
  • When pasta is very al dente (when bitten into, pasta should be opaque and slightly underdone at very center), drain about 5 seconds, leaving pasta slightly wet.
  • Add pasta to bowl with cheeses; immediately pour cream mixture over, then cover bowl with foil or large plate and let stand 3 minutes.
  • Uncover bowl and stir with rubber spatula, scraping bottom of bowl, until cheeses are melted and mixture is thoroughly combined. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil.
  • Transfer pasta to 13 by 9-inch baking dish, then sprinkle evenly with reserved bread crumbs, pressing down lightly.
  • Bake until topping is golden brown, about 7 minutes.
  • Serve immediately.

Questions & Replies

  1. Can you make this ahead of time?
     
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Reviews

  1. I know it took me longer than 10 minutes to prepare this dish, but that's not a complaint, just an observation, 'cause the results are SOOO SATISFYING! Definitely not something I'd make often because of the calories, fat & sodium, but still . . . With the exception of leaving out the salt as an ingredient, I followed the recipe! NOTE: I did make but half a recipe & still had 6 servings that went well with a lite salad & a fresh fruit dessert! [Made & reviewed in the Family Picks part of the Zaar World Tour 4]
     
  2. What's not to love about this recipe?! It has everything a pasta and cheese lover would adore. This is a fantastic pasta dish that I will make again and again. I also loved the bread crumb topping. Very filling! Thanks for sharing.
     
  3. Very rich and creamy, lovely pasta dish, especially for us being in winter now! I followed the instructions exactly, and liked how letting the mixture stand in the bowl, helped everything melt together smoothly before mixing and baking it. That wouldn't have occurred to me previously. Easy to put-together when I came home from work, I served it with fresh garden peas. Thanks, GW!
     
  4. This pasta was so yummy! It was very rich and creamy and I agree, the blend of cheeses was perfect. I especially love basil, so I added in a lil more than the recipe called for, and it was great, everyone loved dinner last night, thanks! Made this for ZWT4 for the Chic Chefs.
     
  5. YUM!!!! Served this for dinner last night for myself, my aunt, and DH . Everyone loved it! The blend of cheeses was just delicious and I loved the mix of tomatoes, cream and fresh basil. Like Nasseh, I also used about half the bread crumbs for the topping (I used a fresh baguette, so perhaps my 12 slices were larger than the average bread slice?--I had way too much). This dish was easy to prepare and we would definitely make this again. Thanks so much for an enjoyable meal. Made for ZWT4 Zingo.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside . . . Chardonnay in one hand . . .chocolate in the other; the body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO, what a ride!!"
 
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