Baked pasta is a wonderful thing. From lasagna to tortellini or pastitsio to mac and cheese there are countless variations that are always crowd pleasers.
The combination of hearty pasta with veggies and or some kind of meat, be it turkey sausage, ground beef or lamb just to name a few, with a cheesy sauce of some kind just oozes warmth especially on a chilly night.
I adapted the above recipe from one I saw in the March 2011 issue of Bon Appetit. Here, from the article, are a few tips to keep in mind when preparing baked pasta dishes…
1. Baked pastas usually need to sit for 10 to 15 minutes after baking. This lets all the gooey ingredients (like melted cheese) set up a bit, preventing things like a piece of lasagna that oozes all over the plate.
2. The basic French sauce bechamel (made of milk and the butter-flour mixture called roux) helps bind ingredients together. The key to a beautiful bechamel is not browning the roux. As soon as it begins to color, yank it from the heat. Once you’ve mastered bechamel, you can mix in cheese and macaroni for basic mac and cheese, or layer it (and your other favorite ingredients) with lasagne noodles.
3. If creamy baked pasta dishes stand too long, they can end up a little dry- the same can be said of leftover mac and cheese. To revive these cheesy dishes, rewarm them and stir in some cream.
Rigatoni With Tomatoes, Zucchini and Pine Nut Crunch
(adapted from Rigatoni With Eggplant and Pine Nut Crunch, Bon Appetit, March, 2011)
8 servings
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 medium zucchini, cut into ½ -inch cubes
1 large red pepper or (1 medium red and 1 medium yellow), cut into1/2-inch squares
2 cups grape tomatoes or (1 cup grape tomatoes and 1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes)
3 large garlic cloves, divided
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cups (firmly packed) fresh basil leaves, divided
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided or (Parmesan Cheese)
¼ cup pine nuts
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream or (half cream and half milk)
1 pound rigatoni
1 pound whole-milk mozzarella cheese (or part-skim), cut into ½-inch cubes or shredded
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise. Toss zucchini and tomatoes together on baking sheet.
Using garlic press, squeeze 1 garlic clove onto vegetables.
Drizzle vegetables with oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper.
Roast vegetables until tender, stirring often, 35 to 45 minutes.
Combine 2/3 cup basil, ¼ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, pine nuts, and 1 garlic clove in mini processor. Blend until crumbly. Season topping with kosher salt.
Blend tomatoes with juice, cream, 1 and 1/3 cups basil, and 1 garlic clove in processor until smooth. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally; drain. Return to pot.
Toss with vegetables, sauce, and ½ cup Pecorino Romano.
Transfer to 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella and pine nut topping.
Bake pasta until heated through, 25 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.
