Baked Whole Grain Pasta

Mix cooked pasta with an egg, vegetables, tomatoes, cheese and "sauce", then bake in a suitably size pan.  Easy enough?  The best part of this dish is it's a great way to use refrigerator inventory and leftovers.  The yield depends on how much you can eat and what's in your cooler!  A basic recipe for 2 servings includes:

• 4 ounce pasta
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup diced vegetables
• 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
• 3 ounce cheese
• 1/3 cup sauce

The sauce can include yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, or marinara.  The cheese can be one type or a mix.  The vegetables can include garlic, onions and a seasonal blend.

I make my own pasta.  My pressed rigatoni tends to flatten, but since I was to bake this in a pan, it didn't matter.  I revert to the most flavorful Lemon Pepper recipe. 

Baked Rigatoni

2-3 Servings

Lemon Pepper Pasta
Beat egg in a small measuring cup.  Mix into flour, salt and pepper for about 30 seconds.  Add juice. Add just enough cold water to get mixture to almost form a ball.
1 egg
3/4 cup flour mix (Made from 1 part each unbleached all purpose, whole wheat, 1 part Kamut, and semolina flours)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 teaspoon black pepper
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lemon
Cold water 
Knead for 1 minute.  Form dough into quarter size balls.  Feed into mixer with rigatoni press, 1 ball at a time.  Cut onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Allow to dry for about 1 hour.  Cook in boiling salt water for 8-10 minutes.  Drain.

While the pasta cooks, I sauteed the vegetables:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced zucchini
1/4 cup spinach, stems removed
Drain and squeeze out water
   
Mix pasta and vegetables with:
1/4 cup diced drained tomatoes
3 ounce shredded cheese (mine had fresh mozzarella, parmigiano and Gruyere) 
2 ounce Greek Yogurt
4 ounce Cottage Cheese with chives
1 egg 
Spoon into baking dish greased with olive oi spray.

Bake at 375F. for 30 minutes.  Garnish with fresh snipped oregano.