The baked pasta is the classic Sunday main course par excellence, known throughout Italy. Also called timballo, it never disappoints anyone. It can be white or with sauce and ingredients can be added according to taste. It’s a rich and hearty dish, I still remember my grandmother’s version where I found everything inside, eggs, mozzarella, peas, meatballs, mortadella, it was truly a mix of dishes…. There are many baked pasta recipes, but this is the most traditional. In this recipe, I propose the classic Barese baked pasta made with sauce and small meatballs, mozzarella, and mortadella, with a super tasty final crust. Now I’ll leave you to my recipe. Enjoy your meal!!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1.1 lbs pasta
- 1.1 lbs meatballs
- 12.3 oz mozzarella
- 5.3 oz mortadella
- 1 quart tomato sauce
- Half onion
- oil
- salt
- 1 cup water
- grated Parmesan to taste
- 1.1 lbs mixed ground meat
- 1 egg
- chopped parsley
- 1.8 oz grated Parmesan or Pecorino
- 1.8 oz breadcrumbs
- salt
- pepper
Tools
- Baking Dish
- Pot
Steps
First, prepare the small meatballs by seasoning the meat and forming balls about 0.35 oz each; they obviously shouldn’t be large.
In a saucepan, sauté a little oil and the onion over low heat. When the onion has softened, add the tomato sauce plus a cup of water and the salt. Cook for 30 minutes and then add the meatballs and cook for another 20 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, in another pot, boil water with salt and blanch the pasta you have chosen for 2/3 minutes.
At this point, the sauce will be ready. Drain the pasta and transfer it to a container, and add a few ladles of sauce with some meatballs, diced mozzarella, chopped mortadella, and Parmesan, and mix everything well.
In the baking dish, spread a bit of sauce without the meatballs and a sprinkle of Parmesan on the base.
Pour in the seasoned pasta.
Finish by covering with the remaining sauce with meatballs and Parmesan.
Bake in a ventilated oven at 392°F for 25/30 minutes.
The baked pasta is ready!!
Storage
You can store the baked pasta at room temperature until the next day, otherwise in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. For longer periods, it is recommended to freeze it after cooking.
