Pasta al Forno

This is the king of all recipes from my mission. Elders would dream of this dish (while they were knocked out in a pasta coma.) The name only means "baked pasta"--but that's an understatement when you look at everything piled into this recipe. And you'll see why it was such a rare treat: 1. not super healthy. 2. requires LOTS of prep work. Don't eat too much, or you will seriously be struggling.

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2 boxes penne or rigatoni pasta, cooked al dente
1/4cup bread crumbs
Ragu
Besciamella
1-2 balls mozzarella, diced
1/2cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup salami slices, cut into strips
2 eggs, hard boiled

Ragu:
1/2 lb hamburger
1/2cup shredded carrots
1cup froz. peas
2 cans basic tomato sauce (I use Hunt's Garlic & Herb)

Besciamella:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1cup milk or cream


In large saucepan, prepare ragu by browning hamburger meat in a little olive oil.* Add shredded carrots and peas. When peas are no longer frozen, add tomato sauce.

In smaller saucepan, prepare besciamella by heating butter over med heat. When butter is mostly melted, add flour, salt and pepper and mix well. Add milk or cream and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles and thickens.

Grease 9x13 pan and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Layer cooked pasta, ragu, besciamella, cubed mozzarella, grated parmesan, salami. Top with mozzarella and slices of hard-boiled egg.

Cover and bake at 350F for 30 min, or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.


*if I was using plain tomato sauce from the vegetable side of the aisle, rather than the spaghetti sauce side of the aisle, I would add garlic before browning the meat and other spices after adding the sauce.