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Cheesy Italian Rigatoni Torta

Course: Pasta
Author: Roz | La Bella Vita Cucina

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 pounds of rigatoni
  • olive oil cooking spray
  • 2 – 3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 cups parmesan parmiggiano-reggiano, fresh and finely grated
  • 2 – 3 cups home-made Bolognese sauce I use my family’s recipe that I keep tubs of frozen sauce in my freezer
  • 16 oz. ricotta cheese
  • 1 jumbo egg
  • 2 tsp. Italian herbs of your choice: dried or freshly minced oregano Italian parsley, basil, thyme, sage, pepperoncini and/or garlic
  • 2 cups finely shredded mozzarella
  • 1 cup finely shredded parmesan parmiggiano-reggiano

Instructions

  • Instructions
  • Boil water in a tall, deep pan.
  • Add about a half teaspoon of salt to the water.
  • When water is boiling, add the rigatoni pasta noodles and boil for only 3 minutes.
  • Remove immediately.
  • In a large bowl, add the olive oil.
  • Then add the rigatoni and toss until all noodles are coated with olive oil.
  • Add the 2 cups of parmesan/parmiggiano and toss so that the noodles are covered with cheese.
  • Spray the bottom of a 9 or 10" springform pan with olive oil cooking spray.
  • Layer a little bit of Bolognese sauce on the bottom of the pan.
  • Place the rigatoni noodles vertical around and completely filling the pan.
  • Mix ricotta, egg, and herbs.
  • Pour this mixture over the panful of noodles.
  • Gently tap down so that the mixture can get into and around the noodles.
  • Layer Bolognese sauce on top next and again gently tap down to get the sauce in the noodles.
  • Sprinkle the mozzarella all over and then sprinkle the parmesan/parmiggiano cheese on top of the mozzarella.
  • Place the springform pan on a pizza pan or baking sheet to prevent the cheese from melting all over the oven.
  • Bake in a 400 F degree oven for 20 minutes on the lowest rack, and place a pizza pan or baking sheet on the top rack to use as an ‘umbrella’ to help prevent the top of the torta from burning.
  • Turn the heat of the oven down to 350 F degrees and bake for another 15 minutes, watching so that the top does not burn.
  • Remove from the oven and allow it to set for 15 minutes before serving.
  • Better yet, let the torta set overnight and reheat the next day. This helps prevent the torta from falling apart just after baking.
  • When ready to serve, take a very sharp, thin knife and run it as close to the inside wall of the springform pan ring in order to ‘loosen’ the rigatoni noodles away from the pan walls.
  • Slowly and carefully, remove the springform ring.
  • With a long knife, run the knife between the bottom of the torta and the bottom of the springform pan base.
  • Slice, serve, and ENJOY!!!!

Notes

  • If you don’t have homemade Bolognese sauce on hand, then you can use your favorite pasta sauce with sautee’d beef and pork blended in. But for the real deal . . . use homemade sauce whenever possible.