My friend on Facebook posted about Rigatoni Pie and I was impressed with the appearance of the pie. I was not sure of the taste yet because I never heard about that kind of pie. I started to research about it. I thought it was a pie like an apple, cherry or blueberry pie. I learned that rigatonis are pastas. Rigatoni are a tube-shaped pasta. They are larger than penne. Rigatoni Pie is one of the simplest pasta recipe I’ve ever cooked. It’s a bit like a lasagna but way easier to prepare. The rigatoni can be cooked and lay down on the plate and mixed with the sauces. But this unique way of preparing the rigatoni pie is that the pastas are tightly packed in a cake pan, standing each piece on an end and the meat sauce will be put on top of the pasta. Push the meat sauce in between of the holes of the rigatoni. It serves as a stuffing. I guess it was called a pie since the stuffing is filling the pastas. This is where I found the Rigatoni Pie recipe
- 1 lb rigatoni pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 lb ground beef (I used ground sirloin)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 (28 ounce) cangood quality crushed tomatoes
- butter, for pan
- salt
- 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 8 ounces coarsely grated mozzarella cheese
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until slightly underdone (I cooked mine for 12 minutes when the box indicated 14 minutes). One pound of pasta should be cooked in 6 quarts of water, make sure you are using a big enough pot so the pasta doesn't stick together. When done, rinse in cold water and drain again. Toss pasta with 1 Tablespoon olive oil to coat. Set aside.
- Heat remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef. Cook, stirring occasionally until browned. Add garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes more.
- Add crushed tomatoes; simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.
- Toss pasta with Parmesan cheese. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end. Spread meat sauce on top of pasta.
- Push the meat sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up. Stuffing the meat into the holes is a weirdly satisfying task. Enough said.
- Place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold.
- Cut into wedges and serve with any remaining meat sauce you might have.
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