Baked Mezzi Rigatoni

Preperation time
20 m
Skills level

Serving size
4-6
Country of origin

Preparation time: 20 m
Cooking time: 40 m
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 (17.6 ounce) bag Mezzi Rigatoni (Durum Wheat Semolina Pasta made in Italy)
  • 1 (8-ounce) bag Italian-Style finely shredded cheese (including mozzarella, provolone, Asiago cheese, and Romano cheeses)
  • 1 small package fresh mozzarella, diced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
  • 1 1/2 jars tomato sauce ( I like 1/2 jar Arabiatta + 1 jar Marinara) Rao's Sauce is great
  • Salt and Black Pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup panko Italian-Style breadcrumbs
  • 1 chunk Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • A good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 large enamel coated cast iron skillet ( I love Staub)
  • Non-stick cooking spray
  • Aluminum foil to cover
  • Large pot for boiling pasta
  • Zester
Recipe Type:
Course:

Baked Ziti gets a makeover with my newly developed on the lighter-side baked then broiled to golden perfection Baked Mezzi Rigatoni. Mezzi Rigatoni combines the heartiness of traditional Rigatoni – a cut that is most commonly used in Southern and Central Italy – with a smaller size, which is an easier bite-sized piece and a spin off on an old favorite. The big challenge you’ll face with baked ziti (or rigatoni) or any baked pasta dish is it may dry out, so use double the sauce. Since it’s baked, feel free to use jarred sauce. I won’t tell and no one is going to know. With that said, I have a wonderful Rustic Tomato Sauce Recipe in my first cookbook, Food That Will Gather Your Family. I hope you check it out.

My baked rigatoni/ziti is the kind of recipe that I will change every time depending what I have in my fridge. This particular time, I decided to omit the ricotta cheese entirely, mainly because I was out. (Feel free to add a few dollops into this dish if you’re family loves that creamy texture.) Also, I loved the Italian-Style cheese used in this recipe which combines 4 different cheeses versus using only mozzarella and Parm. This recipe uses a blend of 5 different cheeses which creates a nice flavor profile for this dish. Here are the directions.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon or more of salt. This is a very important step because this is your opportunity to impart flavor into the pasta, as salt is typically not added to handmade and dried pasta. Allow this to cook according to bag directions, about 11-12 minutes. You can slightly undercook by 1 minute or so as it will cook more in the oven.

Shred about 1/2 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese using the zester, so the texture is very fine.

Add a few ladles of sauce to the skillet, about 1/4 of 1 jar. Once the pasta is done cooking, use a spider strainer and scoop up the pasta and add it to the skillet. Next, add the remaining jar of sauce coating the pasta. Next, add the package of Italian-Style cheese, 1/4 cup of parm cheese, and seasonings and evenly sprinkle it through out the pasta. Add the remaining 1/2 jar of sauce and 1/2 of the diced fresh mozzarella cheese.

Sprinkle on the panko breadcrumbs and add the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to the top. Add the remaining diced fresh mozzarella and a good drizzle of olive oil.

Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray and tightly cover the dish.
Bake in the oven about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. After 20 minutes, take off the foil and crank the heat up to 375 degrees and let it continue to bake another 15-20 minutes. It is done when it’s bubbly and the top is golden.
Next, turn on the broiler and heat for about 2 minutes, just until the mozzarella cheese starts to char a little. This is when the magic happens.
You are going to love this dish!

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