Torta di Rigatoni is a showpiece pasta dish with simple, delicious ingredients including a rich meaty Bolognese sauce and flavorful farmer’s cheese.
I’ve adapted this recipe from one I read in delicious.uk magazine summer before last. I could have sworn I wrote down which issue I’ve found it in so I could share but I’ve found it
online for you now so it’s all good. It’s one of Gennaro Contaldo’s from his cookbook,
Gennaro’s Pasta Perfecto.
In its original form, it’s vegetarian, made with a simple tomato sauce and cubes of mozzarella for the cheese, no meat involved. That would certainly have been easier but I'm always up for a challenge.
Years ago, as Jamie Oliver was first starting out, Gennaro was one of his mentors when they worked together at Carluccio's, so I’ve come across his wonderful Italian recipes many times over my years of adoring Jamie.
This may be one of my favorites with or without my adaptation of a meat sauce.
Torta di Rigatoni
For this dish I used a fresh milk farmer’s cheese because I love the flavor and richness, something like a dry, slightly saltier ricotta. Also it crumbles so nicely, the better to push it into the rigatoni. You could also use a milder grated cheese or cubed mozzarella, like in the original recipe, if you prefer.
Ingredients
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for the pan
1 lb or 450g ground beef
3 cloves garlic
1/2 yellow onion
1 can (14.5oz or 411g) diced tomatoes
1 can (6oz or 170g) tomato paste
3 sprigs fresh oregano, plus extra minced leaves for garnish
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon baking soda
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
For the torta:
about 10 oz or 340g rigatoni
14.5oz or 411g fresh farmer’s cheese, crumbled
To serve:
Grated Parmesan
Method
In a large Dutch oven over a medium high heat, brown the ground beef in the olive oil, crumbling it into the smallest bits possible with a wooden spoon, as you do.
Meanwhile, mince the garlic and onion.
When the beef is nicely browned, even crunchy in places, turn the heat down and add in the garlic and onions. Cook until they are soft and translucent.
Add in the canned tomatoes with any juice and another whole can of water.
Stir in the tomato paste. Tuck the oregano and bay leaf into the sauce.
Bring to the boil, then lower the heat. Simmer the sauce, covered, for about 30 minutes or until the diced tomatoes have fallen apart completely.
Discard the bay leaf and the oregano stems. Stir in the baking soda. This helps neutralize some of the acid in the tomatoes, making the sauce a bit sweeter. Season to your liking with the salt and pepper. Set the sauce aside to cool.
I transferred mine to a bowl so I can use the same Dutch oven to boil the rigatoni. A quick rinse is good enough before boiling water. Because who wants to wash another pot?
To see about how much rigatoni you need to boil, line your springform pan (mine is 9 inch or 23cm in diameter) with foil that goes up beyond the sides and brush the inside with olive oil. I also like to add a circle of baking parchment to the bottom to guarantee I can remove the torta from the pan nicely.
Now set one side of the pan on a cutting board or folded towel and fill it a little more than halfway with raw rigatoni noodles standing up.
Cook these noodles according to package instruction in salted water till almost al dente. They need to be firm enough to still stand on their own still.
Drain the rigatoni and rinse with cool water. Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.
Cover the bottom of your lined pan with a couple of spoons of the sauce.
Tip the pan at slight angle and start stacking the drained, cooled rigatoni so that the ends will face up when the pan is level.
Continue until the pan is completely full. If you have a couple of cooked rigatoni leftover, just eat ‘em.
Crumble the farmer’s cheese with a fork.
Push some of the crumbled cheese into the rigatoni with your clean fingers.
Then spoon over some of the sauce.
Repeat this filling and saucing until half of your cheese is used and about two-thirds of the sauce.
Pour the remainder of the sauce over the tops of the rigatoni.
Lift the sides of the foil and sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.
Bake your torta di rigatoni in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbly.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes. Gently run a knife or spatula around the outside of the torta to loosen it from the foil.
Open the spring form pan and transfer the whole foil package to a cutting board. Remove the foil and put the torta on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the minced oregano.
Cut into wedges to serve with some freshly grated Parmesan.
This month my Foodie Extravaganza friends are sharing noodle dishes in celebration of National Noodle Month! Many thanks to our host, Sue of
Palatable Pastime. Check out the other recipes below:
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