Pasta al Forno Recipe

Pasta al forno, cheese topped meaty baked pasta being served from a baking dish.

Pasta al Forno Recipe

Pasta al forno translates as "pasta to the oven", and it's an Italian dish. My version rocks pasta tubes in a meaty tomato sauce and is topped with bechamel sauce, buffalo mozzarella and parmesan cheese and thrown in the oven until golden brown.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Anglo Italian

Keyword italian baked pasta, pasta al forno, penne al forno, rigatoni al forno

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 20

Total Time 1 30

Servings Servings (with Leftovers)

Calories 1462kcal

Author Brian Jones

Ingredients

1 Small Onion 100g or ⅔ Cup
1 Medium Carrot 75g or ½ Cup
1 Stick Celery 50g or ⅓ Cup
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
175 g Minced Beef 6oz
175 g Minced Pork 6oz
½ teaspoon Salt Plus extra to boil the pasta and season the Bechamel sauce
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Tomato Puree
200 g Tomato Passata ¾-1 Cup
50 ml Water 3 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon
½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
½ teaspoon Dried Basil
175 g Dried Pasta 6oz I use penne or rigatoni
150 g Fresh Mozzarella Cheese ¾-1 Cup
35 g ⅓ Cup Parmesan Cheese

For the Bechamel Sauce:

15 g Flour 2 tablespoon
15 g Butter 1 tablespoon
125 ml Milk ½ Cup
1 Pinch of White Pepper

Instructions

Cut the onion in half, peel it and then cut it into a 3-4mm (⅛") dice.
Chop the carrot into a dice the same size as the onion.
Cut the celery into a dice the same size as the onion and carrot.
Heat a 30cm or 12" pan over a low-medium heat, add the olive oil and sweat the diced veggies down for 10 minutes without adding any colour.
Push the veggies to the side of the pan and crank the heat up as high as it will go.
When the pan is smoking hot, add the minced beef and pork and allow it to sear. You want to get some nice colour on the meat, then stir it to get some colour all over.
Season the meat with the salt and pepper, then stir it in with the veggies and reduce the heat to medium.
Add the tomato puree to the pan and cook it for 1 minute (stirring constantly) in the fat from the meat.
Bring everything together, pour in the tomato puree, water and sprinkle over the basil and oregano.
When everything is bubbling, have a taste, and add more salt if required, then add a lid, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
Bring a 20cm or 8" saucepan of well-salted (I use 1-1½ teaspoon in a pan this size) water to a boil and cook the pasta for 2-3 minutes less than indicated on the packet.
You want the pasta really quite al dente, it will continue to cook when the dish is in the oven.
Whilst the pasta is cooking, heat a 15cm or 6" saucepan over a medium heat and melt the butter.
When the butter has melted, add the flour and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
Pour in the milk little by little until a creamy white sauce has formed, and add the white pepper and salt to taste.
Drain the pasta and add it to the meat sauce and stir to combine, then transfer it to a 20cm (8") X 15cm (6") baking dish.
Drizzle over the white sauce, then dice the mozzarella and sprinkle it over the dish and finally sprinkle over the freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Bake at 200°C or 390°F for 25-30 minutes or until crispy and golden on top. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Video

Nutrition