Baked pasta with porcini mushrooms, a classic and quick seasoning.

Who said lasagna is the only queen of baked pasta dishes? With this recipe, I offer you a faster and more practical version, perfect for those with little time but who don’t want to sacrifice flavor. By substituting the traditional lasagna sheets, like those I used to make White Lasagna with Smoked Salmon, with penne rigate, or another type of short pasta you prefer, you can prepare an equally delicious dish in less time. The ridged shape of the penne, which my husband Franco loves, perfectly captures the sauce and the béchamel, creating a creamy and enveloping dish.

The combination with mushrooms, this time I used frozen porcini mushrooms, and ground meat makes this baked pasta an unparalleled comfort food. The béchamel then binds all the ingredients, giving the dish a soft and velvety texture, but with a nice crust on the surface.
In just a few simple steps, you’ll have a baked pasta with porcini mushrooms ready to win over the whole family and beyond 😉

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Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Medium
Preparation time: 1 Hour
Portions: 10
Cooking methods: Stove, Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Fall, Winter, All seasons

Ingredients

Here’s how to prepare baked pasta with porcini mushrooms

4 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup flour
5 1/2 tbsp butter
2 tsp fine salt
1.75 lbs ground beef
1 carrot
1 onion
1 stalk celery
1 small glass red wine
to taste salt
2.2 lbs penne rigate
1.1 lbs mozzarella
1 cup Grana Padano cheese, grated
1.1 lbs porcini mushrooms
1 clove garlic
to taste extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

To prepare baked pasta with porcini mushrooms, start as follows:

Place the butter in a small pot and melt it completely over low heat.
When the butter is melted, add the flour all at once and stir with a hand whisk.
Cook butter and flour for 2 minutes, then pour in the milk that you have warmed in a small pot, a little at a time, continuing to stir with the hand whisk to avoid lumps.
Season with salt and nutmeg, and cook the béchamel over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring continuously with the whisk until it starts to thicken.
Turn off the heat and let the béchamel cool, stirring for the first few minutes to prevent a skin from forming on the surface.
In a saucepan, sauté the chopped onion, carrot, and celery in the extra virgin olive oil. When the mixture is golden, add the ground meat and cook it. When it starts to sizzle, deglaze with red wine. Season with salt and cook over low heat for about 15-20 minutes.
If using fresh mushrooms, after cleaning them with a brush or dry cloth, cut them into pieces and place them in the pan or pot where you have browned the garlic clove with EVO oil. Adjust the salt and cook until they have released their water.
Place the ground meat and mushrooms in a bowl and mix. Add the mozzarella cut into strips or large cubes and the grated Grana Padano, then mix to combine everything well.
In a pot, bring plenty of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook them very al dente; I recommend draining them at least 3-4 minutes before the suggested cooking time. Cool them with running water, then combine with the filling and add some béchamel sauce to mix everything well.
Layer some béchamel on the bottom of a baking dish and pour the filled pasta. Top with plenty of béchamel and a generous amount of grated Grana Padano, which is never too much.
Bake the baked pasta with porcini mushrooms in a preheated oven at 375 °F for about 25 minutes. Then, to get a nice crust on the surface, finish cooking with the grill function for a few minutes.