Pasta al Forno

Dive into Pasta al Forno! An Italian comfort dish featuring rigatoni, ricotta, and layers of homemade meatballs and mozzarella cheese.

  • Yield: 6-8 servings
  • Prep Time: 1 hr
  • Cook Time: 45 min

Ingredients

Pasta & Sauce
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 Onion, chopped
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Lb Rigatoni
½ Lb of Mozzarella, chopped and divided
1 Cup Ricotta
1 Cup Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, grated, divided, extra for garnish
Fresh Basil, for garnish
Meatballs
1 Lb Ground Beef
1 Lb Sweet Italian Sausage, casing removed
1 Cup Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, grated
½ Cup Breadcrumbs
¼ Cup Milk
1 Tablespoon Parsley, chopped
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Salt

Instructions

Sauce

  1. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add Olitalia Extra Virgin Olive Oil, onion, and garlic. Sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. 
  2. While the onions are cooking, take the Ciao Italian Whole Peeled Tomatoes whole and crush them by hand in a large bowl. 
  3. Once the onions are cooked, add the hand-crushed tomatoes and salt. 
  4. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes. 

Meatballs

  1. In a large bowl, combine beef, sausage, grated cheese, breadcrumbs, milk, parsley, eggs, and salt. 
  2. Mix to combine, then form marble-sized meatballs. 
  3. Place them on a sheet tray drizzled with 1 tablespoon of Olitalia Extra Virgin Olive Oil and cook for 8-10 minutes.

Pasta

  1. In a large pot, boil 4 quarts of water and cook the pasta for about 6 minutes to ensure it is al dente. 
  2. Don’t forget to salt your pasta water! 

Assembly 

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 
  2. In a 13x9 baking dish, spread 1 cup of sauce on the base. 
  3. Then divide the remaining sauce: mix half with the cooked meatballs and the other half with the cooked pasta. 
  4. Put half the pasta in the baking dish as the first layer. Then spread half the meatballs on top, followed by ½ of the grated cheese, ½ of the mozzarella, and dollops of all the ricotta. 
  5. Layer with the remaining pasta, meatballs, grated cheese, and mozzarella. 
  6. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden. 
  7. Serve with fresh basil and more grated cheese on top!

Products Used In The Recipe

Recommended Recipes

About the Chef



Meet Michele Loffreno



Michele Loffreno

Michele Loffreno owner of Food Is Good F.I.G. Food Styling has served on the line at various restaurants throughout New York City and Italy. Desired to remain creative, Michele pursued the TV industry by becoming a Food Stylist on ABC's Emmy-Award-Winning show The Chew and Food Network’s Chopped. More recently, she was the culinary lead Food Stylist at THP, one of the world’s leading content and social media service providers for brand managers and marketers. As well as Brand Ambassador and Chef for Middleby Residential representing their luxury brand portfolio which includes Viking Range, AGA, La Cornue and Lynx in NYC.  
 
Currently, Michele works as a Chef, Culinary Producer and Food Stylist for some of the most established food brands and television companies in the industry.