Spicy Baked Rigatoni
Like Baked Ziti, which is a recipe everybody already knows…..but I make mine with Rigatoni. I like big noodles & I cannot lie!
But seriously, I love the idea of Baked Ziti, but the noodles don’t make any damn sense to me. They be too skinny. I want fat noodles with ridges, & edges, and big gaping holes for sauce & cheese to sit in (YIKES TOO MUCH?!) *wink*
noodle shape matters
I like to think of my version of Baked Rigatoni to be the perfect mash-up of everyone’s favorite layers of lasagna, a jazzed up spicy tomato sauce, stuffed shells & obviously tons of cheese – OBVIOUSLY. So, like….3 different kinds of recipes in 1?!
Yup, you got it.
I did grow up eating Stuffed Shells -- & Judy’s recipe was beyond compare. I enjoy the hell out of Ricotta cheese but it can sometimes get watery & runny, which isn’t the goal for any pasta bake. She always did the ration of 1:1 of low-fat ricotta with low-fat cottage cheese. Cottage Cheese has a good toothsome feel to it that mixes smooth & well with the ricotta, add in an egg, some spices & parmesan cheese – it’s ret-ta-go!
In my Baked Rigatoni, I enjoy the addition of lean ground beef, the epic ricotta-cottage cheese mixture layer mentioned above, plenty of mozzarella cheese & my spicy tomato sauce to bring it all home.
no tomfoolery here
I will go ahead & say, I have tried my darndest to add in spinach, yellow squash, & extra onions to try my hand at my own idea of a ragout, but Chris ain’t interested *eyerolllllll* (insert girl mimicking GIF here) So if you wish to omit the lean ground beef & add in those veggies to make this vegetarian-friendly, I won’t even be mad. I would in fact welcome it! I haven’t had too many people tell me if they have tweaked my recipes, but hey, if you know me AT ALL by now, then just know that I welcome it & would love to know whatever secrets & twists you used to make it a lil different! :)
Ingredients, part 1
· Large, LIKE LARGE, casserole dish, greased
· 16 oz package Rigatoni noodles, cooked
· 1 LB lean ground beef, browned
· 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce, 24 Oz
· 1 can diced tomatoes, seasoned with basil, garlic & oregano, 14.5 Oz
· 1 medium Vidalia Onion, diced
· 3 cloves garlic, minced
· ½ TSP red pepper flakes (optional)
· ½ TSP garlic powder (optional)
·S+P, to taste
· ¼ cup favorite red wine
· 8 Oz Shredded Italian Blend or Mozzarella Cheese
Ingredients, part 2
· 1 cup part-skim milk Ricotta
· 1 cup low-fat Cottage Cheese
· 1 large egg
· 1 TBS Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute
· 1 TBS LiteHouse Freeze-Dried Basil
· ¾ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
Instructions, part 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees & bring a large pot of water to boil.
In a large saucepan on medium heat, brown your ground beef & chop your onions – add all together & cook.
Once your ground beef has cooked & the onions are softened, add in the garlic. In my opinion, this is the first step of smell-o-vision-magic…..the kitchen always smells good as hell whenever garlic & onions are involved.
Next add in the can of seasoned, diced tomatoes – stir well to combine.
Pour in your choice of jarred spaghetti sauce & allow everything to simmer and gently bubble away for about 5 minutes.
While your sauce is simmering, get ready to make your ricotta-cottage cheese layer – mix together the 1:1 ratio of ricotta & cottage cheese. Season with the Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute & dried basil. Add the egg & ¼ cup of parmesan cheese – the other ½ cup of parmesan cheese will be another layer in this epic mash-up. STIR WELL.
Your water *should* be boiling by now – add salt to your water & drop in the Rigatoni noodles. Whatever the instructions say, boil them for 3 minutes LESS – again, because they will finish baking in the sauce & in the oven – nobody wants soggy ass noodles that fall apart & are gummy – NASTY AF.
Instructions, part 2
Back to your spicy spaghetti sauce – give it a taste!
Everything is cooked & should have simmered enough that most of the flavors will be released by now. Add S+P, garlic powder & the red pepper flakes – IF YOU WANT THIS SAUCE TO BE KICKED UP A NOTCH. If you like the way it tastes, leave that shit be.
Just pour in the red wine & simmer for another 5 minutes or until your noodles are done boiling.
Once your noodles are done boiling, using a hand-held strainer, transfer the noodles directly from the boiling water into your spaghetti sauce. This will be a beautiful transformation. The starchy water will help thicken the spaghetti sauce & help everyone stick together – thank you for being a friend.
Stir well to combine the cooked Rigatoni noodles with the spicy spaghetti sauce.
Have your greased casserole pan, bag of shredded mozzarella, & ricotta-cottage cheese mixture AT THE READY – cause its assembly timeeeee.
Ladle a layer of sauce & noodles on the bottom of the casserole dish.
Next, spoon heaps of the ricotta-cottage cheese mixture directly over top – spread over the noodles as evenly as possible – but it doesn’t have to be perfect!
Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese & mozzarella cheese over the ricotta-cottage cheese layer.
Then repeat with the noodles & sauce, then repeat with the ricotta-cottage cheese mixture, then finally the grated parmesan cheese & mozzarella cheese – GOT IT?
When you reach the final top layer of pasta-sauce mixture, DO NOT finish the layer with any additional cheese…..because first it will be covered with tin foil to bake everything thoroughly & then give it a nice smattering of cheese for the final 10 minutes to bake & melt everything for a final touch – ooey gooey.
Cover with tin foil & bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
Remove tin foil & cover the top pasta layer with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese – bake for a final & additional 10 minutes until everything is melted & the sauce is bubbling at the corners.
classic & new age comfort
Everyone has their different ideas of what comfort food is. Mine is always the same : pasta. Like damn, what more could you ask for?
A hot meal with gooey cheese, friendly carbs, a rich sauce with enough spice to put you down for a nap afterwards.
I love how we identify food with feelings & we identify feelings with surroundings – I always feel the most at-home when I’m making a meal for someone that I’ve put genuine thought & love into. My Spicy Baked Rigatoni is the perfect meal for visiting family, new neighbors moving in, leftovers, or a chilly winter night. The sauce can easily be changed for any almost any dietary needs, the noodles can literally be whatever-the-hell-kind you want them to be & the cheese….well, for fuck’s sake, leave the cheese in it’s true form – you can literally change or swap out anything else you want in this recipe but please let the cheese be present & accounted for.
I hope you enjoy the steps in this dish & the many ingredients to make it your own. We are headed into the possibility of another snowstorm this weekend in Virginia Beach so all I have to say is, this might show up on the docket for a perfect, snowy-afternoon meal. Let me know how you like this vamped-up classic recipe, and if you don’t, then same.
Thanks for stopping by!
I appreciate you stopping by! If you loved it, I’d love to hear from you.
If you hated it, then same.
Have a great day & look for my next entry!
© 2021 Cookin’ & Cussin’
