Pasta Al Forno (Baked Italian Pasta)
If you are looking for the definition of comfort food, you've found it! With a rich meat ragu, cheesy bechamel sauce and all the sweet tomato sauce, Pasta Al Forno is the ultimate comfort food to feed large crowds and please the entire family! Filling and extremely satisfying to eat, this Italian baked pasta dish poses serious competition to lasagna...
Equipment
- Ovenproof (Casserole) Dish approx 2l capacity
Ingredients
For Ragu:
- 500 g pork and beef mince
- 1 carrot peeled, chopped into small cubes
- 1 brown onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced or finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 500 g pasatta
- 150 ml stock/ broth
For Bechamel:
- 25 g butter
- 25 g flour
- 250 ml milk
- 100 g cheddar grated
To Assemble:
- 300 g rigatoni
- 125 g mozzarella ball torn into bite-sized pieces
- 15 g basil leaves only
- 50 g parmesan finely grated
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the ground meat and cook stirring occasionally until it is browned all over. Scoop the meat out into a bowl, cover and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to low-medium, then add 2 tablespoon of oil to the same pan. Add the carrots, onions and garlic and sautee for 3-4 minutes.
- Tip the browned meat back into the pan. Then add the tomato paste, passata and stock and stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover the ragu with a lid and simmer on the lowest setting for 1 hour.
- In the meantime, make the bechamel sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the flour and stir until you have a smooth paste that is coming off the sides of the pan.
- Gradually pour in the milk and keep on stirring on medium heat until the mixture thickens to custard consistency. Take it off the heat, stir in the grated cheddar and season with salt and black pepper.
- When your ragu is almost cooked, preheat the oven to 180° C Fan. Boil the pasta for 3 minutes less than the instructions on the packet. Drain and add the pasta to the meat sauce.
- Add pieces of mozzarella and torn basil leaves and mix well.
- Spoon the pasta into an overn-proof dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over and scatter grated parmesan on top.
- Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until the cheese browns and bubbles.
Notes
Serving Suggestions:
Nutrition
Calories: 744kcalCarbohydrates: 75gProtein: 59gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 126mgSodium: 948mgPotassium: 1366mgFiber: 6gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 3933IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 398mgIron: 7mg
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