My first encounter with Rigatoni al Forno was back in the days when I went to the Steigenberger hotel school in Bad Reichenhall, Germany. Sunday evenings we ordered from our trusted Italian restaurant and I just loved the creaminess of the sauce.
What exactly are Rigatoni al Forno?
Rigatoni are a type of pasta similar to penne. These are first cooked and then baked in the oven with a minced meat sauce, cream, and cheese. Some add some ham to the recipe, but I leave it out. Or you can of course add peas. However, I never have that at my house. Because I just don’t like them 🙂
Rigatoni al Forno are also really quick to prepare—especially if you’ve already prepared my Bolognese sauce!
Rigatoni and Food for days
Of course, they are clearly part of Food for Days, because when I make a Bolognese sauce, I always use at least double or triple the amount of the recipe. Then I either make the Rigatoni al Forno with it or a Lasagna.
What’s also great is that Rigatoni al Forno is a recipe that’s super easy to prepare and is therefore also ideal when you have visitors.
To make it easier for you, I included the Bolognese sauce in the recipe below so you don’t have to switch back and forth. I also adjusted the amount of the recipe.
Another tip from me: Any additional cheese, e.g.: Emmental or cheddar, gives a little extra flavour at the end. It is best to serve it with a crisp green salad and simply enjoy it with the family!
All the best,
sabrina x
My wine recommendation:
A nice glass of Italian red wine like a Chianti or Amarone goes perfectly with it
Rigatoni al Forno
An Italian classic
moderate-
Prep time: 20 minutes -
Cook time: 1 hours -
Baking time: 20 minutes -
Total time: 1 hours 40 minutes
Ingredients
| Bolognese Sauce | |
|---|---|
| 2 | cans chopped tomatoes |
| 1/4 | of a small celeriac or 1 celeriac stalks |
| 1 | onion |
| 1 | medium carrot |
| 1 | clove garlic |
| 500 g | minced meat—I use Beef |
| 1.5 | Tbsp tomato paste |
| 75 ml | red wine |
| 1tsp salt | |
| freshly ground pepper | |
| 1 pinch sugar | |
| 1,5 Tsp Olive oil | |
| 0.5 Tsp Oregano | |
| Pasta | |
| 500 g | Rigatoni |
| 100 ml | cooking cream |
| 1 packet ball of mozzarella—sliced | |
| Olive Oil | |
Steps of preparation
Bolognese Sauce
- Cut all vegetables to small cubes- I use a food processor to smuggle my veggies in it
- Add a bit of olive oil to your pot and bring the pot to a high heat.
- Add half of the minced meat and cook, stirring, until the meat is browned and crumbly. When it is cooked through, place it in a bowl to while you repeat it with the other half of minced meat and add to the other meat.
- You need to get some colour in order to get some flavour.
- Place the onions and garlic to fry as well in the pot. Add the chopped celeriac and carrot and sauté them until everything has a nice colour. Add the cooked minced meat to the pot.
- Add the tomato paste and stir
- After around a minute, add half of the red wine and let it reduce. Wait a bit and add the rest of the wine.
- Add the cans of chopped tomatoes.
- Do not throw them away, but instead add water in one of the cans, then swirl it, and pour the “tomatowater” gently in the other cans one by one to get all tomatoes out. Then add the water to the sauce.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar.
- Let it simmer for 30 minutes and if you have time, then let it stand for another 1-2 hours on a very low heat.
- At the end of your cooking time, add the Oregano.
Pasta
- In the meantime, cook the Rigatoni as per the instructions on the packet, however take them out 2 mins before the cooking time on the instruction as they will cook with the sauce in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C
- Get an ovenproof casserole dish and add the pasta and the Bolognese sauce. Combine it with the cream.
- Add the sliced Mozzarella on top and bake in the oven for 25-30 mins.
- Serve with a green salad and enjoy!
- If you have some Parmesan cheese, Cheddar or Emmentaler left, feel free to add it for some extra flavour!
- Or some frozen peas 😉
- When the cheese is melted, take the Rigatoni al Forno out of the oven and enjoy!
Notes
if you want to add some vegetables, peas are a good idea
You tried this recipe?
Then link @sabrinastable on Instagram or use the hashtag #sabrinastable.