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| Pasta Pie Alla Puttanesca |
The idea for this decadent stack of
deliciousness came from an idea I saw on a pinterest post, some months ago. I believe it originally came from something by
Martha Steward. I have since made it
several times and put my own little twists to the recipe, in what I hope is
added perfection. It is very rich, so
take a small slice to start off with. I
have also made this with plain tomato sauce and it tastes like Lasagne. Either way (this recipe or plain sauce),
experiment I think you will really enjoy it.
This holds well for reheating and packs for a lunch. To reheat: place a few drops of water in a
microwave container, cover and microwave for about 4 minutes on high.
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| Grind your own meat |
Prep:
You’ll need a 9 inch Spring Form
Pan, a micro plane, some basic measuring tools and a layout of the ingredients (Mise-en-place) I like to grind my own
meat, because I then know what is in it.
It helps if you have a stand mixer with a grinder attachment. I also buy Whole tomatoes in a can when they
are on sale and when the recipe, as this one does, call’s for crushed tomatoes,
I just give them a few quick spins with my emersion blender, right in the can.
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| (Mise-en-place) |
Ingredients:
1 Box (12 ounces) rigatoni
3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound ground beef (I grind my
own)
3 garlic cloves, minced (use the
micro plane)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
flakes, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 can 2oz anchovy fillets, blotted
then chopped, or more to taste
1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata
olives
2 tablespoon capers, chopped
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 can (28 ounces) good quality
crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoon tomato paste. ( I buy
this in a tube and it saves the waste )
Butter, for pan
Salt to taste (careful the
tomatoes, cheese and anchovies are pretty salty already)
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces coarsely grated mozzarella
Directions:
1.
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta
until slightly underdone. Use enough
water to make sure the pasta doesn't stick together. When done, rinse in
cold water and drain again. Toss pasta with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to
coat. Set aside.
2.
Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large cast iron skillet
over medium-high heat. Add ground beef. Cook, stirring occasionally
until browned. Remove and set aside
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| Brown the meat, while pasta cooks |
3.
Add the last tablespoon of olive oil into the skillet
and stir in the garlic. Turn heat to medium-low and cook and stir until the
garlic is fragrant and begins to turn a golden color, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in
the red pepper flakes, oregano, and anchovies. Cook until anchovies begin to
break down, about 2 minutes.
4.
Return the browned meat to the skillet.
5.
Add crushed tomatoes; and tomato paste then simmer
until thickened, about 20 minutes.
6.
Stir the Parsley, olives and capers into the sauce.
7.
Toss pasta with Parmesan cheese. Butter a 9-inch spring
form pan. Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end.
Spread meat sauce on top of pasta.
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| Stand up the Cheese coated pasta in the pan |
8.
Push the meat sauce into the pasta holes filling each
one up. Be sure all the holes are filled.
9.
Place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.
10. 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
un-mold.
To serve you can cut into wedges
and serve with any remaining meat sauce you might have, or use your favorite tomato
sauce. I always have some in the
freezer. You can find a sauce recipe
elsewhere in my blog, if you don’t have one already.
Talk about a conversation
piece…..Enjoy
