Torta di Rigatoni

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.

Enjoy!

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: 

• Instant Noodles Egg Masala by Sneha's Recipe
• Linguine with Salmon and Cilantro Pesto by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Penang Char Kway Teow (Malaysian Noodles with Crab and Sausage) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Sesame Ginger Noodles by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells by Making Miracles
• Thai Coconut Curry Noodles by Magical Ingredients
• Torta di Rigatoni by Food Lust People Love
• Tsuivan (Mongolian Noodles with Meat and Vegetables) by Tara's Multicultural Table

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

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Beef and Smoked Sausage Goulash (Instant Pot)

This flavorful beef and smoked sausage goulash is made in an Instant Pot, first up is the wonderfully rich meaty tomato sauce and then the (uncooked!) pasta is added. No fuss, no trouble, very delicious!

Growing up, goulash was one of my favorite meals.  Just a simple Bolognese sauce made with ground beef, mixed up with elbow macaroni. Kind of like Hamburger Helper but cooked from scratch. It was the perfect one-bowl kid food.

I’m not sure how this dish, so different from traditional Hungarian goulash got called by the same name, but speculation online is that they have beef and paprika in common and this version is properly called American goulash. I honestly don’t remember paprika in my mom’s dish though. All I know is that I loved it.

During our kitchen renovation a couple of months back, I was prepping and cooking in the laundry room on top of the dryer and washing machine, with a single hot plate, a slow cooker, an Instant Pot and a rice cooker. Meals got very creative in that small space!

From an appliance that I barely touched for the first four years that I owned it, my Instant Pot became my new best friend.

Beef and Smoked Sausage Goulash Instant Pot

If your family members don’t eat spicy foods, by all means substitute canned, diced tomatoes for the Ro-Tel, which comes in mild, original and hot. In any case, you can also use the store-brand equivalent. What I actually used this time, one of each:

Ingredients
For the sauce:
14 oz or 397g smoked sausage (Our favorite is Holmes Smokehouse with jalapeño)
1 medium onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 lbs or 1134g ground beef
2 cans (10 oz or 238g each) Ro-Tel diced tomatoes or store brand equivalent
1 can (6 oz or 170g) tomato paste
3 tablespoons dried Italian herbs
2 bay leaves
8 oz or 225g mushrooms

For adding the pasta:
1 beef stock cube
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 lb or 450g mini penne or elbow noodles

Optional for serving:
Parmesan cheese, grated
Crushed red pepper
Fresh parsley

Method
Cut your smoked sausage into half moon slices. Peel and chop your onion finely and mince the cloves of garlic.

Set your Instant Pot on sauté and add the olive oil to the pot along with the sausage. Cook the sausage, stirring frequently so it doesn’t stick, until it’s well browned.

Add in the chopped onion and minced garlic and give the whole thing a good stir.

Sauté for a few minutes or until the onion and garlic are soft and translucent. Use a slotted spoon to remove them to a bowl and set aside.

Add the ground beef to the Instant Pot.

Sauté until the meat is cooked through and well browned, breaking it into crumbles as it cooks. Ideally, it will even be crunchy in places. Drain the cooked beef and discard the grease created as the beef and sausage cooked.

Trim any hard ends off of the mushroom stems and slice the rest. Add them to the Instant Pot along with the sausage, onions and garlic, Ro-Tel, tomato paste, Italian herbs and bay leaves.

Use the Ro-Tel can to measure and add 1 1/2 cans of water to the pot. Give it all a good stir.

Put the lid on the Instant Pot and set it for 30 minutes on normal. When it finishes cooking, safely release the steam by putting a folded dish towel over it and releasing slowly.

Crumble in the beef stock cube and add 2 cups or 480ml water to the pot. Stir well until the stock cube is dissolved. Add in the salt and baking soda. Finally, add the pasta to the pot and stir very well, making sure the pasta is well covered by the liquid.

Put the lid back on and set the Instant Pot for 4 minutes. Once it’s done, put your dishcloth over the vent again and do a quick release. Stir well and remove the bay leaves before serving.

Top with grated Parmesan and parsley, if desired. We also love a sprinkle of crushed red pepper.

Enjoy!

It's MultiCooker Monday so I'm joining my fellow bloggers in sharing recipes made with our favorite small appliances like Instant Pots, air fryers, pressure cookers, slow cookers and even toaster ovens! Many thanks to our organizer and host, Sue of Palatable Pastime.

• Beef and Smoked Sausage Goulash from Food Lust People Love
• Instant Pot Ground Beef and Pasta from Making Miracles
• Black Eyed Pea Hummus from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sweet Potato Fries using the Breville Smart Oven (air fryer) from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Crockpot Veggie Fajitas from Veggies First Then Dessert
• Spinach & Masoor Dal - Pressure Cooker from Sneha's Recipe
• Saucy Taco Chicken Wings from Palatable Pastime
• Toaster Oven No-Knead Rolls from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Multicooker Monday is a blogger group created by Sue of Palatable Pastime for all of us who need encouragement to make better use of our small appliances like slow cookers, Instant Pots, Air Fryers, rice cookers and sous vide machines. We get together every third Monday of the month to share our recipes. If you are a food blogger who would like to post with us, please request to join our Facebook group.

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