Pastelón de Espaguetis [Recipe] Spaghetti Casserole

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 pound spaghetti or short pasta of your choice ([0.23 kg] )
• 1 1/2 tablespoon salt ((or more, to taste), divided)
• 12 large tomato (peeled and diced)
• 1 oregano ( (dry, ground))
• 3 tablespoons basil (finely chopped)
• 1 small red onion (grated)
• 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1 minced bell pepper
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup capers
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives (cut into slices)
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese ((grated))
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper ((freshly-cracked, or ground) (or more, to taste))
• A few basil leaves for decoration
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese ((grated))

Instructions

1. 1

   --- 1. Boil pasta ---

2. 2

   Boil pasta: In a large pot, boil the pasta al dente, adding a tablespoon of salt to the water.Drain the pasta water, save some to add to the sauce later.

3. 3

   --- 2. Make tomato pasta sauce ---

4. 4

   Make sauce: In a heavy saucepan heat the remaining oil over low heat. Cook and stir the tomatoes, oregano, chopped basil, garlic, onion, and bell peppers over low heat until the tomatoes are tender.Add ½ cup water and tomato sauce. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Set aside half of the tomato sauce for serving. Mix in capers and olives with the tomato sauce.

5. 5

   --- 3. Mixing pasta and sauce ---

6. 6

   Mixing pasta and sauce: Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste and pour it into a large mixing bowl.Add the spaghetti to the tomato sauce and mix well. Add parmesan cheese and mix.

7. 7

   --- 4. Pour into mold ---

8. 8

   Pour into mold: Pour in the pasta into a 6" [15 cm] non-stick pan or lasagna baking dish. Lightly press with a fork to compact. Top with the mozzarella.Cover with aluminum foil for 20 minutes.

9. 9

   --- 5. Bake ---

10. 10

    Bake: Heat oven to 300 °F [150 °C].Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving

11. 11

    --- 6. Serve ---

12. 12

    Serve: Garnish with basil and the tomato sauce you had reserved.