(Rigatoni) Pasta al Forno
Rigatoni al Forno is the perfect meal you can made ahead. Perfect for large crowds or an intimate dinner for two.This pasta combined with meat, eggs and cheese is a hearty meal that will cure anyone's hunger.
Servings: 8
Calories: 450kcal
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 lbs ground veal
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 onion chopped
- 750 ml tomato puree
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 3 basil leaves
- ½ tbsp dried basil or 3 fresh basil leaves
- ½ cups water
For the Pasta
- 450 g Rigatoni Pasta or any small tuberos pasta
- ½ cups parmesan cheese grated
- ½ cups mozzarella shredded
- 2 eggs hard boiled, optional
- ¾ cups pasta water
Instructions
For the Sauce
- In a large saucepan heat up the olive oil and brown the onions and garlic.
- Toss in the veal and brown the veal. Salt and Pepper to taste. Add nutmeg and continue to brown veal. Once veal is cooked. Add tomato paste and stir into coat all of the ground meet.
- Add tomato puree and bring to boil. Add oregano. The sauce will cook down and get thick, if necessary add ½ cup of water if the sauce is too thick.
- Bring down to a simmer and cook covered for about 20 minutes.
- Toss in finely chopped fresh basil (dried is fine too). Set aside
For the Pasta
- Cook pasta as per manufacturer's instructions. Remove pasta when it's al dente (not fully cooked).
- Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water for the assembly. Drain pasta and run under cold water to stop cooking process. Place the pasta in a large bowl or return to empty pot.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Place about half of the sauce into the bowl with the pasta. Mix well. Add half of the parmigiana cheese and half of the shredded mozzarella. Mix well.
- In a medium sized baking dish (9 x 8), place ¾ cup of water and one scoop of the sauce. Pour half of the pasta mixture in the dish. Spread half of the remaining sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle half of the remaining parmigiana cheese and half of the remaining shredded mozzarella. Chop the hard boiled eggs, and sprinkle half on top.
- Pour the rest of the pasta mixture on top. Spread the remaining sauce over pasta. Top with the remaining chopped egg.
- Bake at 350°F degrees for 45 minutes. You will know when it is done when a fork is easily inserted in the pasta and the pasta is soft. Once the pasta is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it stand for about 15 minutes so that it sets and is easy to scoop and serve.
Notes
Please, please let the pasta cool down for 15 minutes so that it sets . Trust the process!
Nutrition
Serving: 1/8 of Dish | Calories: 450kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 1145mg | Potassium: 867mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 768IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 179mg | Iron: 4mg