Creamy Tomato & Mascarpone Pasta Bake

Ingredients

• 500g rigatoni
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 250g mascarpone
• 250ml hot vegetable stock
• 200g frozen chopped spinach
• 250g mozzarella, torn
• 50g parmesan, finely grated
• salt and black pepper to taste
• ciabatta, to serve
• crisp green salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and salt it generously — it should taste like the sea. This is your only chance to season the pasta itself. Cook the rigatoni for 2 minutes less than the pack time so it keeps a firm bite for the bake. Drain, reserving a mugful of the cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a large ovenproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and chilli flakes and cook just until fragrant — 30 seconds, no more. Burnt garlic turns the whole sauce bitter, so watch it and pull the pan off the heat the moment it's pale gold and the chilli smells warm.
3. Tip in the passata, sun-dried tomatoes, lentils, oregano, sugar and the vegetable stock. The stock matters — it's the liquid that breaks the passata down so the sauce tastes of slow-cooked tomato rather than heated tin. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is glossy, thickened, and the lentils have collapsed in. Season well with salt and pepper.
4. Stir in the mascarpone until the sauce turns a soft coral colour and looks silky. Fold through the spinach a handful at a time until it wilts down, then add half the parmesan and most of the basil. Taste, season, taste again — adjust now, not at the table. The parmesan brings salt too, so go in steady.
5. Tip in the drained rigatoni and turn it through the sauce so every piece is coated, loosening with a splash of the reserved pasta water if it looks tight. You want a sauce that clings, not one that sits.
6. Scatter over the remaining parmesan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until bubbling at the edges and golden in spots on top.
7. Let it stand for 5 minutes — the sauce settles and stops sliding off the pasta. Scatter with the last of the torn basil and a final flurry of extra parmesan, then bring it to the table with warm ciabatta and a crisp green salad alongside.