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Baked Paccheri

17/11/2023

Baked Paccheri is an excellent dish for a Sunday lunch or a special dinner where you want to delight your guests with rich and enveloping flavors. Traditionally, paccheri are filled with ricotta and meat sauce, but there can be many variations. Here’s a classic recipe:

Ingredients

  • 500 g of paccheri
  • 400 g of tomato sauce (tomato puree)
  • 300 g of minced meat (you can use beef, pork, or a mix of the two)
  • 250 g of ricotta
  • 150 g of mozzarella, cut into cubes
  • 100 g of grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • Extra virgin olive oil as needed
  • Salt and pepper as needed
  • Fresh basil as needed
  • Butter to grease the baking dish

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (356 °F).
  2. In a pan, sauté the onion and garlic in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil until they become translucent. Add the minced meat and cook until browned, breaking it up with a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Pour the tomato sauce into the pan with the meat and let it cook over medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes. Add the chopped basil leaves.
  4. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the paccheri for about half of the time indicated on the package – they must be very al dente because they will finish cooking in the oven.
  5. Drain the paccheri and let them cool slightly.
  6. In a bowl, combine the ricotta with half of the grated Parmesan, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, and mix to blend.
  7. Grease a baking dish with butter, then start filling the paccheri with the ricotta mixture and arrange them in the dish.
  8. Pour the meat sauce over the paccheri, making sure it gets inside the pasta as well.
  9. Spread the mozzarella cubes over the paccheri and sprinkle the rest of the grated Parmesan on top.
  10. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the surface becomes golden and crispy.
  11. Let the baked paccheri rest for a few minutes before serving. Decorate with fresh basil leaves if desired.

Trivia

This typical recipe from Southern Italy is prone to many variations; for instance, you can add chopped spinach to the ricotta filling or replace the minced meat with sausage ragù for a more rustic flavor. In any case, the result is a hearty dish that is greatly appreciated on all tables.