By: Katie Workman

My family likes nothing better than an Italian, red sauce-y, baked pasta dish on a chilly night. I love how easy they are to throw together. This one is kind of like an unstructured lasagna, with rigatoni instead of flat noodles, and dollops of fresh ricotta. Just make a simple green salad and you are good to go.

Add some red pepper flakes if you want a bit of a kick, and sprinkle on some grated Parmesan just before baking, or even at the table, for a bit of extra flavor. A scattering of fresh basil leaves never did an Italian pasta any harm in the history of pasta.

You can assemble this dish in the morning or even the night before and keep it in the fridge, then bake it right before serving.

The kids can grate the mozzarella if you are buying it whole, they can pick the shape of the pasta, such as rigatoni, ziti, penne, whatever you like. They can measure the ingredients, mix up the ricotta mixture, mix the sauce with the pasta, dollop on the ricotta, and sprinkle on the cheese. This is a very kid-friendly recipe, as long as you make sure they know how to handle the hot noodles while combining them with the sauce.

You will have extra Bolognese sauce after assembling the baked pasta, which you can save for another quick pasta dinner later in the week!

BAKED PASTA WITH BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

For the Pasta

▢ 1/2 pound dried short tubular pasta such as paccheri, penne, or rigatoni
▢ 2 cups ricotta cheese, preferably fresh
▢ 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, divided
▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
▢ Sea salt & ground black pepper to taste
▢ 3 cups Bolognese sauce (recipe follows)
▢ 1/2 pound grated fresh mozzarella cheese
▢ Fresh basil leaves to serve

For the Bolognese

▢ 1/2 pound ground beef
▢ 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
▢ 1 small onion, chopped
▢ 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
▢ 1 stalk celery, chopped
▢ 1 small garlic clove, minced
▢ Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
▢ 1/2 cup dry red wine 
▢ 2 24-ounce bottles Basil Marinara 
▢ 1 tablespoon tomato paste
▢ Generous pinch chili pepper flakes
▢ 1/4 cup whole milk
▢ 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, add the beef and sauté over medium heat for about minutes, until it is browned. Drain in a colander and set aside.

3. Heat the olive oil in the same pot over medium heat, then add the onions, carrots, and celery and sauté for 5 minutes until tender and lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until you can smell the garlic. Season with salt and pepper, add the red wine, and stir and scrape any bits from the bottom. Allow the wine to reduce by half. Add the marinara sauce, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes. Return the browned beef to the pot and simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce is nicely thickened.

4. Add the milk and 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano and cook, stirring often, for another 5 minutes until the sauce is creamy and thick. Remove from heat.

5. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions.

6. While the pasta is cooking mix together the ricotta, half of the Parmigiano Reggiano, dried oregano, dried basil, salt and pepper in a medium-sized bowl.

7. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the 3 cups Bolognese sauce and stir to combine. Transfer half of the pasta to a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Spoon heaping tablespoons of the ricotta mixture evenly over the top of the pasta. Distribute the rest of the pasta over the top of the dish. Sprinkle the top with the grated mozzarella and the remaining ¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

8. Bake the casserole for about 30 minutes until everything is hot and the cheese is melted and the top is golden brown. Serve hot, with the fresh basil sprinkled over the top.

Katie Workman is a cookbook author, food writer for the Associated Press, and the creator of The Mom 100. An expert in creating approachable yet delicious recipes for the whole family, we've collaborated with Katie to transform Bona Furtuna ingredients into exceptionally flavorful dishes.