Mom’s simple baked pasta.
Simple, creamy, melty.
Mom’s simple baked pasta is an incredibly delicious dish, quick to prepare, meat-free, but well-seasoned, creamy and melty, a perfect dish for the whole family on any occasion, try it and see how good it is without spending days at the stove or spending much 😉
Also try:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 56 people
- Cooking methods: Stove, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 l tomato puree
- 300 g peeled tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- to taste basil
- 500 g zitoni (or rigatoni, elicoidali, paccheri, etc…)
- 350 g smoked provola cheese
- 250 g béchamel
- 250 g ricotta
- 150 g grated parmesan (or mixed cheeses)
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- to taste butter
Tools
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Pot
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Spatula
- 2 Wooden Spoons
- 1 Baking Dish
- 1 Oven
Steps
First, let’s prepare the sauce.
Peel and finely chop the carrot, peel and also finely chop the onion.
Cut the peeled tomatoes into chunks.
In a large saucepan, pour a generous amount of oil (the sauce should be well seasoned), add the chopped carrot and onion and let them stew over very low heat, stirring continuously, as soon as the onion becomes translucent, add the tomato puree and the chopped peeled tomatoes, adjust the salt, add a grind of pepper, and cook covered over medium heat without letting it thicken too much, stirring occasionally. Finally, add whole or hand-torn basil (it should not cook).
Put a pot with plenty of water on the stove to cook the pasta.
While the sauce is cooking, dice the smoked provola cheese and let it drain in a colander (in summer, place it in the fridge).
Prepare the béchamel as described HERE (you can also prepare it in advance or use the ready-made one, although homemade is better, you’ll need half a portion).
Once the béchamel is ready, place it in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of grated cheese and the ricotta, mix with a spatula to combine everything.
Also add a ladle of sauce to the ricotta, adjust the salt, add a grind of pepper, and mix again.
Butter a baking dish, spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom.
Preheat the oven to 356°F.
Cook the pasta 3 minutes less than the time indicated on the package in salted boiling water.
Once the pasta is ready, drain it, place it in a large bowl, and season it with the sauce (leave some sauce for the end), mix, add the grated cheese (set aside a generous tablespoon of cheese for the end), mix again, add the previously prepared ricotta, mix again.
Place one-third of the pasta in the baking dish, scatter the provola here and there.
Add another layer of pasta (half of the remaining) and again scatter the provola here and there.
Cover with the remaining pasta, scatter the remaining provola.
Finish with the remaining sauce and the grated cheese.
Bake at 356°F in the middle-lower part of the oven (the shelf just above the base) and cook for 20 minutes.
Then move the dish higher up, increase the temperature to 392°F and let a crust form by cooking for a few more minutes (it took me 5 minutes, but it depends on your oven, check).
Once the pasta is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Mom’s simple baked pasta is ready to be enjoyed… Bon appétit!
Also try Neapolitan baked pasta, find the recipe BY CLICKING HERE.
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