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I know that it may only be Thursday, but I am preparing you guys for Friday.
No but really, I am posting this specifically on Thursday so you can make this tomorrow.
It is a must.
Ready for another “when I was growing up” story?
Well, I still feel like I am growing up. Probably because I totally am, but you get the point. Anyway, this pasta is hands down one of my favorite dinners. Yes, I say this a lot, BUT this pasta will always, always, be something I love to death. Everybody loves this pasta. Ok, not the meat-eating brothers because the only meat on this pasta is the pepperoni and that just does not cut it for them. Like I say all the time, their loss. Except Brendan, this is his favorite, but he loves all food…..
Of course, I almost never get to cook for him because is off flipping upside down through the air somewhere. Figures.
Alright, so I think we all get by now that I was a pretty weird kid (still am, but I am kind of not considered a kid anymore). All throughout school when kids were going out on Friday nights I was probably home hanging with my family and eating this.
A lot of Fridays I would force myself to hang out with my friends because one, I did actually like them, and two, if I did not devote a little time to them outside of school I would not have any friends to hang with at school. I mean, it’s a two-way street, so I had to play my part, at least a little. Ok, that sounds bad. What I am trying to say is that even though I loved my friends, I still also really loved being at home with my family. Sometimes I would do a fun Friday night with friends and then the next week I would just stay home and chill out.
Still sounds totally weird, but what’s new.
Whatever I did though, this was almost always dinner on Friday night. Sometimes we would switch it up and do homemade pizza, but this pasta would then get made on Saturday.
I am not really sure when my dad actually started making this pasta, but he has made it for as long as I can remember. I am also not sure how it came to be, but my guess is he just started throwing some things in a baking dish and called it a day. To be honest, it is never made the exact some way twice. This is one of those dishes that normally does not have any measurements involved and things are just thrown in, tossed together and then loaded with cheese.
Also if I am being honest, no one will ever be able to make this as good as my dad. I have tried, over and over again, but for some reason his version always comes out better every single time. Sure, I can make a lot of things, and a lot of them I can probably do better than my dad, but this is just not one of them. Pasta and eggs are his thing.
A few key ingredients?
1.) Pasta
2.) Good olive oil
3.) Tons of mozzarella cheese
4.) Red bell peppers (most important)
This is one of the most simple pastas you will ever make. It requires dirtying only two dishes. One is the pot to boil the water in, the other is the dish to bake the pasta in.
Super simple because who the heck wants anything complicated on Friday night? Not me that is for sure.
The prep time on this is twenty minutes, TOPS. And that is only if you are slow.
But it does require baking for at least 45 minutes. This is key if you want the peppers to get all roasted and delicious and trust me YOU DO. Nothing is better than those peppers sitting on top. I am known to pick off all the peppers and leave everyone else with none. Sorry, I can’t help it. They are my favorite part.
Dad's Friday Night Pasta Dish
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 709 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound angel hair pasta
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper or to your liking
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives halved
- 1/3 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes drained of excess oil
- 2 tablespoons pickled pepperoncinis optional
- 15 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- 3-4 red bell peppers sliced
- Pepperonis
- 2-4 ounces parmesan cheese freshly grated
- Freshly torn basil for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until al dente. Drain well.
- While the water comes to a boil add the olive oil (make sure the oil covers the entire bottom of the baking dish, if not add more oil), dried basil, dried parsley, dried oregano, dried dill, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. To the baking dish add three fourths of the pasta, the olives, sun-dried tomatoes and pepperoncinis. Toss well until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Drizzle the pasta with a little of the reserved oil from the sun-dried tomato jar. If pasta seems a little oily add in a little more angel hair or if you would like to use all the pasta be sure to add more oil to evenly coat all the pasta.
- Add 3/4 of the mozzarella cheese and then scatter the sliced red peppers over top. At this point it will seem like there are too many peppers, but this is fine. They will cook down.
- Sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella and evenly place the pepperonis on top. Sprinkle on top 2-4 ounces of parmesan and another drizzle of olive oil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes or until the top is browned and the peppers have softened. Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh basil and more parmesan. Cut and eat!
Oh and obviously, this dish is good any night of the week, but it is extra delicious on Fridays, because well it is Friday… and everything is better on Friday.
HEY GUYS, I NEED YOUR HELP!!
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Should I use dried dill weed or dried dill seed in this recipe?
HI! You should use dried dill wee. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Planning to make this for my family and a friend who just had a baby – would you bake to completion and just reheat or assemble completely (maybe minus the water?) and give instructions to add water and bake? Is this version or your cookbook version better for making ahead? Thanks for any help!
HI! I think this is the better version to make ahead of time. I recommend using this recipe and assembling the pasta dish fully. Then place in the fridge, covered and just bake as directed when ready. That works great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
When do you add the boiling water? Did I miss this step? Thanks!
HI! I Am sorry, I am confused. The boiling water is for cooking the pasta. Is there something else you meant to ask maybe?
To make this delicious dish more hearty for the “growing boys,” I love to put chicken breasts down first then add the deliciousness in this recipe on top. So. GOOD!
Thank you for sharing your family’s tradition!
I am so glad you loved this! Thank you so much!
I am making this for dinner tonight so I pulled out my HBH cookbook instead of printing off the internet. The cookbook version sounds like you don’t cook the noodles before assembling the casserole. Should I cook or not cook the angel hair pasta? Thanks for your help!! Your recipes are the best!!
If you are using the cookbook version, do not cook the noodles before baking! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
I made this dish for my in laws when I was short on time but still wanted to offer something beautiful and delicious. It was so so so good. My whole family loved it and it was so easy to assemble. I can’t wait to try more of your cookbook recipes!
I am so glad you and your in laws enjoyed this Adrienne! Thank you so much!
One of our favorite dishes. We have made it at least 25 times since we discovered the recipe a couple years ago! And have passed it along to friends as well ? Just made it tonight, delish as always!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Jenny!
LOL.
Better than the original
Thanks Tatum!
Ok… you’ve won me. I wasn’t a regular, but now I am. This is the straw that broke the camel’s back. lol. What a beautiful dish. You rock!
hehe! ya! So excited you love this, thank you!!
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I loved this recipe! It was such a neat twist on pasta, and my husband especially loves angel hair. I featured your recipe on my blog because I loved it so much. 🙂
Thanks for a great recipe!
If I half this recipe, would the cooking time or temperature change?
Thanks. 🙂
Hey Kaity, I would not change the temperature, but I would cook it less. Probably 30-45 minutes. Hope you love this dish!
I grew up in an Italian family & I have to say you & your Dad’s recipe is a winner. The only think I did different was to add minced garlic (I put garlic on everything!) & I also reserved 1/2 cup of the pasta water after it was cooked, to make it moister & easier to mix up before baking. Husband & kids loved it! Thanks so much for sharing this & your story. Will be making this dish often!