From region to region, from oven to oven, this enjoyable baked pasta dish has conquered the palates of Italian families. A "clever" dish that can be prepared with various types of pasta, either dry and fresh, maccheroni, rings, ziti or paccheri, in a pan with cheese and béchamel. You can add different ingredients in keeping with the season and what’s left in the pantry, enriching it with tomato and meat sauce, boiled eggs, meatballs, cold cuts and mozzarella. Today we’re going to prepare the cheese baked pasta, the basic recipe where it all began.
Cheese baked pasta recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups milk, 14 oz dry short pasta, 4 oz asiago cheese, 4 oz fontina cheese, 2 oz butter, 2 oz flour
grated Parmigiano Reggiano, nutmeg, salt
Method:
First, start with the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and stir with a whisk to obtain a dense mixture, called roux. Season with a pinch of salt and grated nutmeg, cook for 2-3 minutes over very low heat, continuously stirring. Heat the milk separately, when it boils pour it into the saucepan with the roux, mix and bring back to the boil. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes obtaining a smooth and creamy béchamel sauce. Cut the Asiago and Fontina cheese into cubes, the smaller the better so they melt in the béchamel (if you prefer you can grate them coarsely). Remove the béchamel from the heat and melt the cheese cubes, keeping a handful for the final gratin topping. Boil the pasta up to 2/3 of the cooking time, drain then transfer to a bowl with the béchamel sauce and flavor with a little grated Parmigiano. Place the pasta in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with the cheese cubes and more grated grana cheese, then a few flakes of butter. Bake at 400° for 10-11 minutes.
Baked pasta: Tips
Choose the boiling point based on the grounds of the dressing chosen: if it’s a rich and liquid dressing cook the pasta 2/3, if it’s dry then bring the pasta almost to cooking point.
Opt for a ceramic, glass or terracotta baking dish: since they are poor conductors the pasta will remain moist in the center.
Sprinkle the surface with grated cheese or breadcrumbs and add melted butter or a few knobs whilst cooking to nicely brown the surface.
Bake in a preheated oven to prevent overcooking the pasta.