Posted on

Baked eggplant pasta

Baked eggplant pasta combines roasted eggplant, hard baked ricotta cheese, mozzarella and tubular pasta like rigatoni, ziti, penne or tortiglioni tossed in a tomato sauce and baked until golden and bubbly. This is not a quick dish to make but the time spent is well worth it.

PREP TIME 15 MIN COOK TIME 60 MIN

INGREDIENTS FOR 5-6

  • 1 large eggplant or 2 medium cut into cubes
  • 500 g rigatoni pasta
  • 700 g tomato passata or 2 cans of crushed or plum tomatoes
  • 250 g mozzarella shredded or cut into cubes
  • 50 g grated ricotta cheese or alternatively 50 g grated Pecorino cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion
  • 2-3 garlic cloves
  • basil leaves
  • peperoncino (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 225 C.
  2. You can peel the eggplant but it is not necessary. Toss the eggplant cubes with oil and season with salt. Spread the cubes onto a baking tray (or trays) and roast for 20-25 minutes. Turn the eggplant halfway through. When done, keep them aside. Lower the oven to 190 C.
  3. Meanwhile make the tomato sauce: heat some oil in a large saucepan to medium heat and sauté the onion until soft 4-5 min. Add the garlic and peperoncino if using and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato passata or plum tomatoes and cook uncovered at low for 20-25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Cook pasta in abundant salty boiling water and drain 2-3 minutes less than al dente.
  5. Mix the pasta, the sauce and the eggplant in a large bowl.
  6. Layer the pasta in a baking dish. Add the mozzarella in between the layers and leave a handful to top the dish. Sprinkle the grated ricotta and a few basil leaves on top.

7. Bake at 190 C for 30 minutes until golden brown. It’s best to wait 10-15 minutes before eating to let the pasta settle.

Tip: you can fry the eggplant cubes instead of roasting them in the oven.

BUON APPETITO!

Posted on

Baked pasta with ground beef and veggies

This is a very easy baked pasta or oven pasta recipe where you can substitute ground beef with ground turkey or chicken and use veggies of your choice. This time I chose peas and button mushrooms.

prep time 15 min     cook time 25 min
ingredients for 4-5
  • 500g short pasta of your choice, I used big penne
  • 500g ground beef
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, dices
  • 10-15cm piece of celery, diced
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 150g frozen or fresh peas
  • 250g button mushrooms, sliced or diced
  • 500ml béchamel sauce, I used store bought but you can make your own
  • glass of white wine
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 200g provola dolce or mozzarella, cut into cubes
  • 50g + 30g grated cheese, Parmesan or other
  • breadcrumbs

1. Pre heat the oven to 180C.

2. In a large pan heat a few Tbls of olive oil. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook for a few minutes. Add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper.

3. Add the mushrooms, let cook for a few minutes and then add the frozen peas and also the bayleaf. Pour the wine and let cook on low for 15 minutes.

4. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions but drain it 3-4 minutes before it’s al dente.

5. If you are making your own béchamel sauce, here is how. You need butter, milk, flour, salt and nutmeg.

6. Mix the drained pasta with the meat sauce in a large bowl. Stir in 400ml of besciamella, mozzarella cubes and 50g of grated cheese.

7. Pour the pasta into a 25 x 35cm oven proof baking pan. Top with the remaining 100ml of besciamella, sprinkle 30g of grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven for about 25 min until the top starts to brown. For the last 5 min you can use the grill setting.

BUON APPETITO!