Culinary tours to Italy led by a native Italian
  • CULINARY TOURS
    • AMALFI
    • CHIANTI
    • CALABRIA
    • SICILY
  • CUSTOM ADVENTURES & PRIVATE TOURS
    • Private Tours >
      • BOLOGNA
      • CHRISTMAS IN TUSCANY
      • PUGLIA
      • ROME
      • TUSCANY
      • VENETO
  • Zoom Cooking Classes
  • MY COOKBOOKS
"If your mother cooks Italian food, why should you go to a restaurant?" - Martin Scorsese

Southern Italian Style Pasta al Forno

9/12/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Sunday means one thing in an Italian household: food and family, and lots of both. Growing up in southern Italy, Sunday meant Mass, followed by a large family meal that was usually prepared, or at least started, before Mass. Mom would get up early to prepare the sauce, along with whatever else we were having that day. Pasta al Forno, or baked ziti was served pretty regularly in my household, usually with a second course of fried cutlets and peas with pearl onions. It was a traditional Sunday meal, a frequent go-to when you wanted to eat something a little more elaborate, but couldn’t think of anything else! Generally, mom would get everything ready beforehand, including breading the cutlets, making the sauce and dicing up all the ingredients. Then upon returning from church, we’d prep the pasta for the oven, and fry the pre-breaded cutlets. The peas required little attention, thus the perfect side dish! This dish is sure to bring many Italians and Italian-Americans to their youth! 
 
Southern Italian Style Pasta al Forno 
​Serves 6

Ingredients
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 – 3 crushed garlic cloves
½ small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 lb ground meat (beef, beef & veal combo, turkey)
1 teaspoon salt, plus additional for salting the pasta water
1 (28 ounces) can, plus an additional ½ (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
 
For the pasta: 
¾ - 1 lb ziti, penne or rigatoni pasta 
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided 
8 oz shredded mozzarella, divided
½ lb deli-style ham, diced, divided
¼ lb deli-style salami or soppresata, diced, divided
4 eggs, hardboiled and diced, divided
 
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and parsley and sauté for 1 – 2 minutes. Add the ground meat, and break it down using a wooden spoon, sauté for 4 – 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt to taste, and 1 cup of plain water, stir and simmer on medium – low heat for 30 minutes. 
  2. Meanwhile, turn the heat on high and bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil in a 6-quart pot. Add the pasta, stir, and cook 4 minutes less than the box instructs.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Scoop about approximately one and a quarter cups of the sauce and layer it on the bottom of a 9 x 11 (or 9 x 13) inch baking dish. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot it cooked in. With the heat off, add 2 – 3 cups of the sauce to the pasta and mix well. Add almost all of the following ingredients: grated cheese, mozzarella, ham, salami and diced eggs, reserving some for toppings. Mix well to combine all the ingredients. 
  4. Add everything on the prepared baking dish. Top with the remaining sauce and spread evenly over the pasta. Top with the remaining toppings, also spreading evenly. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a crunchy topping develops. Serve hot or at room temperature. This dish is also wonderful reheated and served the next day.
Share
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Hi there, thanks for visiting my blog! Here you will find recipes, short stories, tales, rants and whatever else is on my mind with regards to food, Italy, travel and along those lines. Drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you!

    Archives

    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

AS SEEN IN

Picture

MORE FROM US

BLOG
CONTACT
ABOUT
TESTIMONIALS

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL

francesca@thelazyitalian.com

LEGAL

COOKIES
PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©  2020 - Lazy Italian Culinary Adventures, LLC

Photo used under Creative Commons from Michael Stern
  • CULINARY TOURS
    • AMALFI
    • CHIANTI
    • CALABRIA
    • SICILY
  • CUSTOM ADVENTURES & PRIVATE TOURS
    • Private Tours >
      • BOLOGNA
      • CHRISTMAS IN TUSCANY
      • PUGLIA
      • ROME
      • TUSCANY
      • VENETO
  • Zoom Cooking Classes
  • MY COOKBOOKS