‘Pasta Sotto Forno’, mac and cheese, pasta bake, call it what you like. I just call it comfort food. Pasta is of course a staple diet in Italian homes. The variations to what sauces you can make and use, and how each different pasta can be served it truly endless. It is so versatile, inexpensive and easy to prepare. I am a typical Italian in the sense that a bowl of pasta will always with out fail win against any ‘meat and two veg’ dish!! However I live in a house with 5 others include a husband from the north so I must be fair!!
Three of us that’s Santino, Chiara and myself could quite happily eat pasta every day. From spaghetti to penne with pesto and not forgetting my ricotta shells too!! When ever we go out for dinner, I always have pasta too!! Yes, I know CARBS!! But hey, after four children this body can with stand any thing!!!
Per la mia pasta sotto forno, oh sorry I went all Italian for a moment, Its because Dean Martin is singing to me about ‘Pasta e Fasul’ and of course amore!!. For my pasta in the oven I always tend to use and make a bolognese type sauce and use a large tube pasta like a ‘Rigatoni’. I enjoy the combination of pasta with tomato sauce and mince meat. It is totally a comfort food and to honest with this terrible weather that we call ‘summer’, I welcome comfort in any way, and especially if it comes in the form of a large bowl.
So to begin you need to prepare the base for our pasta, I call it sugo, but its also know as ragu.
1 kg Minced Beef
2 bottles of passata 680g I use Cirio Rustica passata and have done for years
Water (fill one of the passata bottles up with water, that will be the ideal quantity to use)
4-5 Cloves of garlic, crushed
200g Tomato Puree
Salt and pepper to season
2 tsps Oregano
Large handful of fresh basil
salt and pepper to season
1. To start brown the minced beef in a sauce pan with a tiny bit of olive oil.
2. Once the mince is browned drain off any excess fat or juice.
3. Now add in the tomato puree and stir with the browned beef.
4. Add in the crushed garlic and mix, cook for about 3 minutes,then add the two bottles of passata.
5. Mix well and then slowly pour in the bottle of water. The sauce would be too thick if the water is not added.
6. Season well now with salt and pepper and add in the two tsps of dried oregano.
7. The sugo takes 3 hours to cook over a slow heat, lightly bubbling away. Your house will smell amazing. After 3 hours of bubbling add in half the fresh basil. I tear the basil with my fingers, so you have lots of uneven pieces. When the sugo is ready it will have thickened and be tasty and deep with flavour. Then add in the remaining basil. Check to see if more seasoning is required.
500g rigatoni pasta
700g mozzarella, torn or cubed
fresh basil
1. Large pan of salted water, remember water as salty as the Mediterranean sea. Cook your pasta to aldente , It must still be firm and have a bite to it.
2. Tear, grate or cube your mozzarella.
3. In a large bake ware dish, add in a ladle or the sugo. An even base level.
4. Drain the pasta and place back into the pan. Add 2-3 ladles of sugo to coat the pasta.
5. Now you need to layer pasta and mozzarella and sugo. Two or three layers and top with mozzarella and fresh basil.
Whilst cooking I normally have the children biting my ankles asking for tasting sessions. They normally tell me when they think its ready.
Place in an oven 190C, cover with foil for about 30 minutes, then remove the foil and finish the bake for around another 30 minutes. When its ready spoon into bowls and top with any remaining sugo.
