With just a few extra minutes of prep time, a classic baked pasta dinner is transformed into an eye-catching pie. To save time, instead of making your own tomato sauce, you can substitute 4 cups of smooth-textured, store-bought marinara.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 5 min |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 9 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes in juice
- One 15-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes in juice
- 1 cup loosely-packed fresh basil leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 pound rigatoni
- 1 pound part-skim mozzarella, grated
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- 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.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 525 |
| Total Fat | 24 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 51 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 6 g |
| Protein | 27 g |
| Cholesterol | 45 mg |
| Sodium | 701 mg |
Reviews
So I made this with halved meatballs on top, it looked impressive, and it tasted great, but it fell apart upon serving – disappointed that it didn’t look as advertised. I also did not have enough pasta, had to cook a second lb to fill in another third. Any tips on how to get it to stay in “pie shape”?
This is so excellent – even with my “make do’s” using what I had on hand. I only had a 10” springform so almost didn’t have enough pasta. Some of the noodles were squashed/not fully round which was annoying – had they been, it would have easily been enough. Gently shaking the pan around slightly spaced them out enough to fill the pan adequately. I used a 24 oz jar of marinara, but it didn’t look like it would be enough sauce for all those noodles so I added two 14.5 oz cans of tomato sauce plus random spices. It turned out sooo tasty! Baked 30 covered, 30 uncovered and it was lava hot, even after sitting for 10 minutes before removing the ring.
So contrary to some of the other commenters, mine was a 1 pot easy clean up meal! And as for “a lot of fuss…don’t bother” <— WRONG!! It was such a cool, fun, unique presentation!! So easy, especially if you tilt the pan while loading the vertical noodles. I can’t wait to try it again using some of the tweaks/suggestions others have mentioned!
So contrary to some of the other commenters, mine was a 1 pot easy clean up meal! And as for “a lot of fuss…don’t bother” <— WRONG!! It was such a cool, fun, unique presentation!! So easy, especially if you tilt the pan while loading the vertical noodles. I can’t wait to try it again using some of the tweaks/suggestions others have mentioned!
This was an outstanding dish, However the directions were so off, A box of rigatoni was far too much, I
re-measured my pan to make sure it was the right size, I had soo much extra cooked pasta. The cooking time is off as well. It takes at least 15 min longer to fully heat. Other than that it was great. I used bottled Vodka sauce as a shortcut.
re-measured my pan to make sure it was the right size, I had soo much extra cooked pasta. The cooking time is off as well. It takes at least 15 min longer to fully heat. Other than that it was great. I used bottled Vodka sauce as a shortcut.
I made it before & delicious!! This time thought I could swap out ziti for rigatoni & I was wrong. The diameter of the hole matters, 1lb ziti wasn’t enough pasta. It ended up dry … make as written you you wont be disappointed.
The family loved this, yes it’s a bit of work but it made the dish unique. I will definitely make it again.
I loved this! I used a layer of cottage cheese over top of rigatoni, then pecorino romano, then sauce followed by ALOT of mozzerella and more pecorino romano. It was amazing, and the cheese was golden brown on top–had meatballs and sausage on the side!
I made this again tonight. It’s so tedious and labor intensive, but so worth it. I HIGHLY recommend it.
This time I lost my mind and put a layer of par-cooked 3 cheese small tortellini on the bottom and also a healthy layer of lasagna ricotta filling! LOL
Then, I stood the noodle soldiers up over that, with the finishing sauce touches! Took it to work and had to fend off several marriage proposals. From chicks, too.
Then, I stood the noodle soldiers up over that, with the finishing sauce touches! Took it to work and had to fend off several marriage proposals. From chicks, too.
I made this a couple of years ago. I filled each noodle with a lasagne cheese blend and a stick of cooked pepperoni, talked with a meat sauce and cheeses
Can this be prepared early and baked several hours later?
This was great, but you might budget 30 or 40 minutes more for having to run to the store and cook more rigatoni when that 1lb package the recipe called for leaves you with a 1×3″ section unfilled in your 9″pan.