Rigatoni Pie Recipe By Tasty Food

RIGATONI PIE

Steps:

• Heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil with the garlic in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Once it begins to sizzle, cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is soft and just beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in the chile flakes, then add the tomatoes and 1 1/2 cups water. Increase the heat to high and bring the tomato sauce to a boil, crushing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce cool for 10 minutes then puree in a blender until smooth.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil and bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until it is slightly less than al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta, spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Stand the rigatoni on their ends in the prepared pan until it is completely filled (you might not use all the pasta). Place the pan on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch drips. Pour the sauce over the noodles, spreading it with the back of a spoon (You might not use all the sauce.) Sprinkle the pasta with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
• Cover the pan with foil, doming it slightly to avoid touching the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and continue cooking until the top is golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes more. Let the pasta cool for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the sides of the pan, cut into wedges and serve.

SUNNY'S EASY SAUSAGE AND MUSHROOM RIGATONI PIE

Steps:

• For the sauce. In a pan with straight sides on medium heat, add the olive oil and sausage. Crumble the sausage into bits, not boulders, and cook until browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until wilted and darkened, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with pepper and remove from the heat. Add the sausage back to the pan along with the pasta sauce and stir.
• For the pasta: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the rigatoni to the boiling water and cook until very al dente. Drain and spread out on a cooling rack to prevent sticking. Let cool slightly.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Add the rigatoni to a bowl and sprinkle with the Parmesan and parsley. Gently toss with your hands.
• Coat the inside bottom and sides of a springform pan with cooking spray. Begin lining the rigatoni on end (vertically) around the edge of the pan, creating a border. Pack the pasta pieces tightly, but not so tight that the holes in the rigatoni close. Toss the remaining rigatoni in the sauce, then pour into the center of the pan. Gently press the mixture to level it off.
• For the topping: Arrange the provolone slices in an overlapping spiral to cover the pasta mixture, then top with the mozzarella. Gently press everything down with your hands. Bake until the top is bubbly and golden around the edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before releasing the springform. Serve topped with Parmesan, parsley and basil.

RICOTTA-STUFFED RIGATONI PIE WITH MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• For the meat sauce: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat, a large pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring and breaking up the meat into smaller pieces, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, oregano, red pepper flakes and garlic and cook, stirring, until the tomato paste darkens to a brick red, about 1 minute. Add the tomato puree, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a high simmer, then adjust to a low simmer. Cover the pan and cook for 30 minutes. (You can make and cool the sauce the day before. Reheat before using the next day.)
• For the pasta: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon oil. Cook the pasta until slightly less than al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and toss with the remaining tablespoon oil, then spread out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Spread 1/4 cup of the meat sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan. Stand the rigatoni on their ends in the pan until it is completely filled.
• For the ricotta filling: Stir together the ricotta, Parmesan, egg, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag, snip off just enough of the tip to make a small opening and pipe into each rigatoni tube. Pipe small mounds of any leftover ricotta mixture on top of the pasta and spread out into a thin layer. (You can cook and fill the pasta the day before.)
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the filled springform pan on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch drips. Pour 2 cups of the meat sauce over the pasta, spreading it with the back of a spoon so that it drips in between the noodles. Top with the mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Cover the pan with foil, doming it slightly to avoid touching the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover the pan and continue cooking until the top is golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes more. Let the pasta cool for 45 minutes (do not skip this part or your noodles will fall apart when serving!). Sprinkle with parsley, if using, then carefully remove the sides of the pan. Cut the pie into wedges and serve with the reserved meat sauce on the side.

RIGATONI PIE ALLA VODKA

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup of the oil with the shallot in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Once it begins to sizzle, cook the shallot, stirring occasionally, until is soft and just beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes, then add the tomatoes with their juices, vodka and 1/2 cup water. Increase the heat to high and bring the sauce to a boil, crushing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the cream, bring back to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce cool for 10 minutes, then puree in a blender until smooth.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon oil.
• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until slightly less than al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
• Stand the rigatoni on their ends in the prepared springform pan until it is completely filled (you might have leftover pasta). Put the pan on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch any drips. Pour the sauce over the pasta, spreading it with the back of a spoon (you might have leftover sauce). Sprinkle with the mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Cover the pan with foil, doming it slightly to avoid touching the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and continue cooking until the top is golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes more. Let the pasta cool for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the sides of the pan, sprinkle with basil, cut into wedges and serve.

RIGATONI PASTA PIE (MARTHA STEWART)

Steps:

• 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.

RICOTTA STUFFED RIGATONI PIE

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 400ºF and rub olive oil on the bottoms and the side of a 9" springform pan and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Cut two long strips of parchment paper slightly taller than the height of the springform pan and line the sides of the springform pan. This makes it easier to unmold the pasta dish at the end, and this step is optional.
• Heat oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven. Once hot, add ground sausage and beef and cook until no pink remains, about 7 minutes. Add Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, onion powder, and tomato pasta and stir. Cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Then add in tomato sauce, and water to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer, and loosely cover the pot. Continue to simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, while you assemble the rest of the ingredients, which should be about 15-20 minutes. The sauce should be thickened.
• Prepare ricotta mixture: Add ricotta, egg, parmesan, herbs, salt and pepper to a bowl and mix together until fully combined. Transfer ricotta filling to a plastic piping bag either with a piping tip smaller than the whole of the rigatoni pasta, or a plastic storage bag with a small hole snipped off of the end.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Do not add oil. Add rigatoni and cook, uncovered, until the pasta is al dente-about 2 minutes less than the package instructions state. Drain the pasta through a colander and rinse with cool water until it is no longer hot.
• One by one, stand up the rigatoni pasta in concentric circles in the prepared springform pan. Pack them so that they all stand up vertically on their own, but not so tightly that there is no space at all between them.
• Fill each rigatoni tube with just enough ricotta filling to reach the top. Place 1 cup of meat sauce on top, and smooth it over with a spatula so that the sauce fills in the gaps in between the rigatoni. Place another 1 cup of meat sauce, and smooth it over. Top with 2 cups of mozzarella cheese.
• Lightly oil a piece of aluminum foil, and loosely cover the top of the springform pan.
• Bake in the center of the oven for 35 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and continue to bake until the cheese is bubbly and golden on the outer edges and beginning to darken in spots towards the center. The middle of the rigatoni pie should have reached an internal temperature of at least 165ºF.
• Let the pie cool for at least 20-30 minutes before unmolding.
• To unmold, run a knife around the edges of the pie. Unsnap the springform pan and carefully remove the sides of the pan. If the rigatoni pie is still steaming hot, wait a bit longer to cut in to keep the structure of the pie intact.
• Slice and serve with warmed additional meat sauce, and garnish the pie with additional parmesan cheese and fresh herbs.