Pasta bakes are actually so adaptable and extremely easy to put together. A few fresh ingredients mixed with some leftover curry, jalapeños + olives, topped with cheese + butter and BAKE. A robust pasta sauce such as Arrabbiata, made from garlic, tomatoes, and spiced with dried red chili peppers, works wonders in this recipe. You may make your own pasta sauce from scratch, or use store-bought and add your own touch to the sauce base. It just cannot get any more simpler or flavorful than this!
I use Rotini pasta in this recipe as the corkscrew shape allows the delicious, thickened, spiced tomato sauce and the shredded meatballs to become trapped in its grooves, thereby creating the perfect texture and bite! Fresh marinated green olives plus spicy jalapeños provide additional fantastic flavors. What’s not to love here?
Olive Pasta Bake (with leftover Chicken Kofta Curry!)
Ingredients
- 1 lb Rotini pasta *I used Barilla brand
- 24 oz pasta sauce *I used jarred Arrabbiata sauce
- 5 oz green olives *store-bought, marinated in oil, sliced
- 2 tbsp jarred jalapeños *drained + chopped
- ¼ cup vegetable stock
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter *cubed
- 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano *freshly shredded
- 1 cup leftover Chicken Kofta Curry *shredded, or any leftover minced meat/Keema
Instructions
- Heat a skillet on medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp cubed butter. Once combined and melted, turn heat to medium, add the jarred Arrabbiata pasta sauce, vegetable stock, cayenne pepper, black pepper, oregano, Kosher salt and mix well. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Now add the chopped jalapeños and half of the sliced olives. Cover, turn heat to medium low and simmer for an additional 5-7 minutes. Set aside and let sauce cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large pot, boil water and cook Rotini pasta, per package instructions. In a baking dish, drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil and add cooked pasta. Add leftover shredded Chicken Kofta Curry (with gravy!) and spread evenly on pasta. Pour sauce on top, sprinkle cheese and gently mix to combine. Add remaining sliced olives and 1 tbsp cubed butter on top, cover with aluminum foil (place a few slits in foil using a knife to allow steam to vent) and bake for 45 minutes.
- Carefully remove dish from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Perfectly palatable Olive Pasta Bake is now ready to serve. Enjoy! Nosh Farma'aiye.