Spaghetti Hot Dish

This is a recipe that I originally found when I was logging out of my hotmail account and saw an article titled something like, "10 Simple Pasta Dishes." Since finding the original recipe I've veganized it and adapted it so much that I think it's safe to call it my own. The original recipe was called, "Spaghetti il Forno" or something fancy like that, but here in Minnesota we call it "Hot Dish." It bakes in a 2 quart baking dish using 1/2 pound of pasta (that's 8 oz.), so if you cut it into 4 square pieces it looks like you're eating a HUGE piece of Spaghetti Hot Dish, but really it's only 2 oz. of pasta with tons of vegetables. It would be very easy to double the recipe and use a whole pound of pasta and a larger baking dish if you wanted to make this for more people.

2-3 Tsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle
1 yellow or white onion, minced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, optional
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar (optional)
2 Tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley
2 Tbsp. minced fresh basil
1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti (8 oz.)
About 3/4 c. whole wheat, plain, panko or Italian seasoned bread crumbs
Another 1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1) For the sauce, heat the oil in a sauce pan and then add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Saute until very tender, 12-15 minutes.

2) Add the tomatoes, salt & pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, vinegar, parsley and basil. Simmer, partially covered, for 30-40 minutes stirring occasionally.

3) When the sauce is almost done, preheat the oven to 450 degrees, lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish with some olive oil, and cook the pasta according to the package directions (but shave 2-3 minutes off of the cooking time so that it is very al dente).

4) When the pasta is done cooking drain it very well and add it into the pan with the sauce and stir until mixed very well.

5) Transfer the pasta into the baking dish and press down. Sprinkle about 3/4 c. bread crumbs over the top (don't bother to measure out the bread crumbs, just give it a nice coating), sprinkle a little dried oregano over the bread crumbs and then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

I used panko bread crumbs.

6) Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow it to cool and set for a few minutes when it is done baking and then slice into 4 pieces and use a spatula to serve.

This makes 4 servings.