“We’re all a little cranky these days because it’s cold, it gets dark early, and we’ve been dealing with the stress of the virus for nearly a year. Fortunately, because I have been stuck at home, I’ve had more time to cook than ever, and that never fails to make me feel better. Plus, I end up with a good homemade dinner, and so does everyone (Jeffrey!) around me. When people ask me about my favorite comfort food, I have a hard time deciding between a big bowl of satisfying stew and a pan of cheesy baked pasta. With this Baked Rigatoni with Lamb Ragù, I don’t have to choose! First, I make a rich lamb ragù, which is just like a stew: I sauté onions, carrots and fennel, then add ground lamb, tomatoes, lots of garlic and almost an entire bottle of earthy red wine. As it simmers away on the stove for 40 minutes, the whole house smells amazing and everything starts to look up! Then I cook the rigatoni until it’s al dente, drain it and toss it with the lamb ragù, lots of fresh mozzarella and some eggs and cream to hold it together. I top it with Parmesan and mozzarella and bake it until it’s hot and bubbly, and the top is browned and crusty. I dare anyone to still be cranky after having this for dinner!” says Ina.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)
- 2 cups (1/2-inch) diced carrots (3 large)
- 2 cups (1/2-inch) diced fennel, cored (1 medium)
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon whole fennel seeds, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, such as San Marzano
- 2 1/2 cups dry red wine, such as Chianti or Côtes du Rhône, divided
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed with your hands
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound rigatoni, such as De Cecco
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 pound fresh salted mozzarella, divided
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium (10- to 11-inch) heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and fennel and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to brown. Add the lamb, garlic and fennel seeds and cook for 8 minutes, breaking up the lamb with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, 2 cups of the wine, the oregano, red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Off the heat, stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of red wine.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 2 tablespoons salt and the rigatoni and cook according to the directions on the package, until barely al dente. Drain.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream. Add the rigatoni and toss well. Grate half of the mozzarella on a box grater and add it to the rigatoni mixture. Add the lamb mixture, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper and toss well.
- Transfer to a 10-by-14-by-2-inch baking dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Slice the remaining mozzarella and arrange it on top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the sauce is hot and bubbling and some of the pasta is crusty on top. Serve hot.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 816 |
| Total Fat | 43 g |
| Saturated Fat | 21 g |
| Carbohydrates | 57 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 7 g |
| Protein | 37 g |
| Cholesterol | 167 mg |
| Sodium | 922 mg |
Reviews
Could you assemble it and then freeze it? I’d like to thaw it out and bake it at a later date.
This is SOOOO delicious! I’ve made it many times, always to rave reviews and converts to lamb (don’t be afraid of it, it melds with the other flavors beautifully). Have always reduced the salt as suggested by others, the salt added to the pasta makes a big difference though. This time I offered roughly chopped mint for each to add, even the mint naysayers were adding more.
I must be the only person who failed at this recipe. I’m a big Ina fan, have never had a recipe of hers that didn’t work. This one, which I made according to the recipe but substituted ground turkey thighs for the lamb was just awful. The vegetables didn’t break down after all the sautéing and simmering and the wine was too much, giving it an almost sweetish flavor (used merlot, maybe that was the problem?) Even the seasonings were off. It was soupy and chunky and…not good. Will always love you, Ina, but will never make this again.
This was fantastic! I had some red pepper I needed to use so I chopped that up and sautéed with the carrots and onions. I also added a parmesan rind to the Ragù as it was simmering to add a little extra flavor. Came out perfect!
Excellent. A lovely winter meal. Next time I will serve w loaf of Italian bread to help sop up extra sauce. Lamb adds an amazing flavor and differentiates it from the usual meat sauces. I may try cutting a teaspoon of salt next time. It is easy, but time consuming and uses a lot of dishes. You need the huge baking dish that it will be baked and served in, but also a Dutch oven for the sauce, a pot for boiling pasta, a huge bowl for mixing it all together, and all the other usual bits and bobs. I was able to clean up almost everything prior to dinner given the cook times.
So surprisingly great (but is it that surprising because it’s Ina?). This tasted like it came from a restaurant and I’m usually not a big lamb person. It was relatively easy to make considering it needs quite a bit of plates and utensils. As you cook the sauce, you get ready everything else and have time to clean up. I did not have any fennel seed so I subbed in the same amount of caraway seeds, and I didn’t add the total of additional salt she calls for (I put in about 1 tsp NOT 2 tsp at the end) as it was salty enough to me before I added the pasta and sauce together, so taste the sauce before, making note there’s a lot of cheese and salted pasta going in. Otherwise, I followed it exactly and it was perfect. Ina’s instructions are always perfect and easy to follow!
This was delicious, a restaurant-quality dish and a great twist on the familiar tomato-based Italian pan pastas like lasagna. I will definitely make this for guests over the holidays. My family doesn’t like a lot of pepper or heat, so I cut the black pepper in the sauce by half and did a little less than 1/8 tsp of the red pepper flakes. Did everything else the same and it was fabulous. Red wine paring on the side takes it up a notch.
I added a table spoon of sugar to reduce the tartness of the extra 1/2 cup of wine. I will omit the extra wine next time. I also added about 1/4 cup of grated parm, and pasta water to help thicken up sauce. I also baked for 30 minutes. Friends loved it.
Deliscious… simple process, and the lamb makes the dish extra rich…left overs to crave for, roll on midnight snacks