Baked Rigatoni & Vegetable Ragu
Overview
Well, I took one final trip for the summer to get out of the smoke of Seattle, it was bad here! When I returned home I had some produce left from the previous week that I didn’t want to go to waste. I was craving pasta and a ragu in particular. Ragu is typically made with meats that are stewed with veggies, and a liquid to cook them down. In this variation, I had to try and encapsulate that meaty flavoring so the mushrooms were very important in this recipe. Honestly, the rest of the veggies I had to use were just minced up and cooked down with everything. This recipe turned out to be a little “clean out the fridge” type of recipe I used to do with my friend Lori. I know the recipe list is a little random but it turned out good! It still had that ragu style flavor and texture I was looking for. As a top off I covered it with some mozzarella cheese and broiled it for a bit. It was the recipe I needed for our first autumn rainfall here in Seattle.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
1 half of red onion
1 Shallot
5 garlic cloves minced
1 lb asparagus finely chopped
6-8 large brussel sprouts finely chopped, 1 1/2 cups
10 mini carrots minced, a heaping cup
2 tablespoons of Italian Seasoning
1/2 cup red wine
28 oz. can whole tomatoes with juice, crushed by hand
8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 bay leafs
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
Salt and Pepper
Instructions
1
Dice your red onion, shallot, and garlic. Heat a heavy-bottomed pot or a dutch oven to Medium-high, add 1/4 cup of olive oil, onion, shallot, and garlic. Let that cook for 5 minutes and give it a couple of stirs. While that cooks, start chopping your asparagus, brussel sprouts, and carrots. Add to pot with Italian Seasoning, a couple of pinches of salt and pepper, and give it a quick stir so the veggies get coated in the oil and seasoning. Let cook for 8 minutes. Add wine to the pan and deglaze. Cook for another 5 minutes. Open your can of whole tomatoes and place them in a large bowl with liquid. Smash the whole tomatoes with your hands to break up. Then add to your pot with mushrooms, bay leaves and cinnamon. Cook for another 5 minutes or so. Give your sauce a try if you need more salt or pepper add more. Turn your heat down to medium and cover for 30 minutes.
2
After the 30 minutes, take the top off and cook another 30 minutes. In the meantime start cooking your pasta. Make sure you make it very al dente (about 5-7 minutes) because you’re going to toss this in with the ragu once it’s ready then bake it. So not stiff pasta but just soft enough to bite into with a crunch.
3
Once pasta is done, save a cup of the pasta water, drain and toss the pasta into your ragu with the other 1/4 cup of olive oil. Give it a few tosses to incorporate the sauce and oil onto the pasta.
4
Put everything in a casserole dish, cover with mozzarella cheese and boil for 4 minutes just until cheese melts and is slightly browned on the top.
5
Place a couple of heaping scoops into each bowl with parmesan cheese and black pepper. Then I’ll serve with the rest of the wine and more! If you have leftovers just throw the top on the casserole dish and throw it in the refrigerator. When your ready for leftovers throw it back in the oven at 300° for 15-20 minutes. I’m also weird where I like when the pasta gets slightly burnt and the tops brown with the cheese and become crunchy… to achieve that, after reheating pasta turn on the boil setting for the last 2 minutes or so.
