This is one of the most typical dishes of the city where I was born and raised, my Palermo which has always gifted me culinary traditions that are a great cultural heritage for me. Without too many words, Palermo and Sicilian cuisine is among the most appreciated nationally, and some dishes are famous worldwide, and I don’t want to sound presumptuous.
The main memories that tie me to this dish are family Sundays and with relatives, but also the summer days when at the sea without too many complications, one chooses to bring a small tray or entire pans!
In Palermo, when we talk about “baked pasta“, we mean “anelletti“ – a particular shape that is found in supermarkets under the specific name “Sicilian rings”. I’m sure that every single person from Palermo, at least once in their life, has eaten this delicacy, and I’m even more sure that at least 80% love it!
There are many variations that change from family to family, based on the traditions of the old neighborhoods their parents, grandparents, and so on were part of. The main base of a baked pasta is invariably the pasta shape we already described, a tasty meat sauce, cheese, and various cured meats. Many also add béchamel, fried eggplants, and hard-boiled eggs, just to make sure nothing is missing from this irresistible calorie bomb.
In my version, I have “limited myself” to using only one cured meat, cooked ham. I also included fried eggplants (air-fried), naturally the meat sauce with peas, fior di latte mozzarella, and breadcrumbs to be browned in the oven.
Related recipes:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 2 Hours
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 white onion
- 3 carrots
- 1.1 lbs ground beef
- 2 bottles of tomato sauce
- 1 cup red wine
- 7 oz frozen peas
- to taste salt
- to taste sugar
- 1 black eggplant
- 1 fior di latte mozzarella block
- 5.3 oz cooked ham
- to taste grated Parmesan
- to taste grated Parmesan
- knobs butter
- to taste breadcrumbs
- 2.2 lbs Sicilian rings pasta
Tools
- Oven
- Baking dish
- Air fryer
Steps
First, chop the onion and carrots, then sauté them in a pot with extra virgin olive oil
Next, add the ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon until completely browned. Then, deglaze with red wine until the alcohol evaporates
At this point, add the two bottles of sauce and season with salt and sugar to reduce acidity. Also, add the frozen peas and let cook on low heat for at least 40 minutes
Proceed by slicing the eggplant and cutting it into cubes. Then, coat them with olive oil and cook in the air fryer for about 20 minutes at 350°F
Continue by cutting the fior di latte mozzarella block into cubes and tearing the cooked ham slices into pieces
Assuming that you need to cook the pasta rings in salted water, proceed with the next steps
Butter a sufficiently large baking dish and then sprinkle with breadcrumbs to form a non-stick layer
Continue by draining the pasta and seasoning it in a bowl with half of the previously prepared meat sauce and the fried eggplants
At this point, cover the entire surface of the baking dish with a first uniform layer of pasta and season the surface with ham, mozzarella, and a sprinkle of Parmesan, then cover again with another layer of pasta
Proceed in the same way, repeating the previous step until all ingredients are used up
To finish, spread the remaining meat sauce over the top and give a final sprinkle of Parmesan. Add a few scattered knobs of butter and a generous dose of breadcrumbs
Finally, bake in a preheated oven at 400°F for 30 minutes. Once baked, let it rest for at least 30 minutes before serving
Tip!
If you have leftover baked pasta, don’t throw it away but store it in the fridge. The next day, it tastes even better if you “fry” it in a pan with a little olive oil.
