MACCHERONI ALIA NAPOLETANA

Macaroni with Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella
Serves 4
40 minutes cooking

1 tsp. garlic
1 cup onion, chopped
1 can, 28 ounces, whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes
1/3 cup butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 pound macaroni pasta, half cooked
1 1/4 cups fresh scamorza cheese or mozzarella cheese, sliced

Finely chop the garlic and onion. Put the tomatoes through a food mill and put in a pan with the garlic, onion and 1/4 cup butter. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and cook over a moderate heat until thick. Half-cook the macaroni in plenty of boiling salted water, then drain well.

Put alternate layers of macaroni, sliced scamorza or mozzarella and tomato sauce in a greased ovenproof dish, ending with a layer of tomato sauce. Dot with remaining butter and bake in a hot oven (about 400°F) for about 30 minutes.

*Scarmorza is a stretched cow's milk cheese from Italy. The name means literally beheaded which describes the way the cheese looks in bag tied with rope.