Baked meatball pasta (pasta al forno)

Hi all!

Back after a long pause due to work! But I haven't stopped cooking :) Here's a recipe which is super easy to make but makes an amazing impression and is at the top of any Italian's comfort-food list: pasta al forno. The key to this recipe is making a good bechamel sauce, which isn't as hard as one might think!

Ingredients (serves 6):

-1 liter whole milk
- 100 grams flour
-100 grams butter
- salt as needed
- 500 grams pasta (short shapes like penne or maccheroni)
- 1 lt tomato sauce or chopped tinned tomatoes
- 200 gr minced lean beef
- 2 eggs
- 100 gr breadcrumbs
- 200 gr grated parmigiano reggiano cheese (or pecorino for a stronger taste)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- fresh parsley
- half an onion
-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


Process:

- Prepare your meatballs: in a bowl, mix the minced meat with the breadcrumbs, eggs, finely chopped garlic and parsley and 2 tablespoons of grated cheese. Form very small balls (think: have to be eaten in one bite and with some pasta), and set aside.
- Prepare your sauce: place the olive oil in a large low pan with the onion (finely chopped), and heat untill the onion becomes transparent - keep a close eye on it as to avoid burning it. Add in the tomato sauce or chopped tomatoes, and leave the sauce to boil gently and become more dense. After 15 minutes, add in your meatballs, cover the pan with a lid, and keep cooking, stirring occasionally. Once the meatballs are well cooked inside and the sauce is dense, switch off the flame.
- Boil your pasta, but drain it 2 minutes before the due time.
- In a deep oven-safe pan, which you have buttered lightly, place the pasta, sauce and bechamel and stir everything together. cover with the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs, and place in the oven at 200 C for about 30 minutes, or untill you see a crispy crust forming on top.

Once ready, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes, then serve individual portions as you would with lasagna. This dish is actually a great substitute for lasagna!

A tip for vegetarian (or health conscious) readers: you can swap the meatballs for lightly fried aubergine cubes, it's going to be as tasty and, if possible, even more mediterranean!


Enjoy!!

Ragu Bolognese (Bolognese sauce)

This is one of te key recipes of classic Italian cuisine - every Italian mother and grandmother has a slightly different version, and of course swears by it! Here is mine;)

Ingredients:
- 200 gr minced beef (or 100gr of beef and 100 of pork, for a tastier, if less light, version)
- 1 clove of garlic, still covered in skin
- extravirgin olive oil
- four tablespoons plain tomato sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- half teaspoon of concentrated tomato paste
- a pinch of salt
- 2-3 dried juniper berries (you can find them in the spices section in any large supermarket)
- a few cloves

Cover the bottom of a deep pan with a one-centimeter layer of olive oil, add the garlic clove, and heat gently. Before it becomes too hot, add in the minced meat, and let brown slightly. Before the meat starts drying, stir in your tomato sauce, cloves, berries and tomato paste, mix well, and cover with a lid. Let the sauce cook slowly on low heat for about 30-40 minutes. E' pronto!

This sauce can be used on its own on pasta (possibly fresh egg pasta like tagliatelle) or as the key ingredient for yummy lasagne - this recipe for another post. Enjoy!