Rich and Old-Fashioned Baked Rigatoni
I have no idea how many recipes I’ve learned and cooked in my 50 years…I’ve been cooking since I was about ten; at first, I was a disaster, then slowly I wanted to improve, I started working in public places; it used to be easier to find work, you started early, and after school, there was always some job, so I began to make fewer mistakes. After finishing compulsory school, I was unsure of the path to take, tried some, which remain as experience, but then decided to attend culinary school, as I continue to study and specialize in the subjects that interest me or for work. Experience matters a lot, but having the basics and advice from professionals is even better; then each of us finds our path. I’m not very inclined toward modern dishes; I like traditional cooking and manage to achieve excellent results, based of course on the testimonials of those who have tasted my preparations.
Back to the recipe, I sometimes wander off in my mind…
So, a baked pasta that you won’t forget, from festive Sundays, big lunches…Filled with savory and essential ingredients. A baked pasta dish found in southern Italy, full of color and flavor, using local produce. I believe there isn’t a specific recipe; every family has its own, a rich and somewhat old-fashioned first course or perhaps sought after for that festive and homely meal.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 2 Hours
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Slow Cooking, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
Tomato, meat, sausage, meatballs, mozzarella, hard-boiled egg, and…A dish that is measured by feel, it’s hard to use weight, but I’ll try
- 10.5 oz ground beef
- 10.5 oz beef (I used 'brutto e buono' as the cut)
- 10.5 oz sausage
- 2.2 lbs tomato sauce
- Half glass soffritto mix
- 17.6 rigatoni
- 2 mozzarella
- 10.5 oz Grana Padano cheese, grated
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 2 eggs (For the meatballs)
- 1 glass breadcrumbs
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 coffee cup chopped parsley
- to taste salt
- to taste olive oil
- to taste nutmeg
- to taste black pepper
Tools
Cutting board, saucepan for the sauce, pot for the pasta, baking dish for the oven, frying pan for browning the meatballs
True, a lot of things will get dirty, but it’s worth it, sometimes you have to indulge!
The tools I use can be found, along with other purchase advice, Here
Steps
Many steps and patience; it’s an elaborate but very simple dish
Cut the meat and sausage into pieces, and prepare the soffritto mix (carrot, celery, onion)
In a saucepan, sauté the chopped vegetables in a little olive oil…
Then add the meat and sausage and brown well, finally add the tomato sauce; adjust the salt and cover. Cook slowly.
Prepare the small meatballs with the ground beef, part of the grated cheese, breadcrumbs, finely chopped garlic and parsley, the eggs, nutmeg, black pepper. Mix well and form small meatballs that you will fry before adding them to the sauce. Continue slow cooking for about another hour. Calculate at least three hours of cooking in total.
In the meantime, cook the pasta in salted water, leaving it very al dente, and the eggs; prepare your baking dish and the mozzarella cut into cubes. Mix the rigatoni with your rich meat sauce, after draining them, and arrange half in the baking dish add the eggs, mozzarella, and a sprinkle of Grana.
Finish with the remaining pasta and an additional sprinkle of cheese…Bake at 392°F until a crust forms on the surface.
Your baked rigatoni are ready!
Rich baked rigatoni full of pleasure!
Once cooked, they can be stored in the refrigerator. If you want to make single-serving portions, they can also be stored in the freezer without problems; just pass them in the oven or microwave.
