Baked Rigatoni with Tiny Meatballs
Adapted, no doubt blasphemously, from
Marcella Hazan
Serves 8 but I think Americans would serve this to 4 to 6
When I first realized that this “baked ziti” lacked a tomato sauce, I
had my doubts. But then Alex said “it would be like Italian mac and
cheese!” and
then, predictably, it had my full attention.
Although the original dish didn’t yield anything so sauced and cheesy as
the mac-and-cheese we know, I’ve upped the sauce, cheese and seasoning
for a baked pasta that is more lush, but surprisingly un-heavy. This is
still a subtle baked pasta.
There’s a lot of room for tweaking here: If you’re certain you won’t be happy without a veritable
oozing
of cheese, you could tear up some fresh mozzarella and toss it in with
the dish before you baked it. If you cannot bring yourself to eat this
unless it contains one form of vegetable matter, I imagine a bit of
cooked spinach, steamed broccoli bits or even eensy cubes of roasted
carrot and parsnip would work in here.
For the meatballs:
1/4 cup milk
1 slice good white bread trimmed of its crust
1 pound ground pork (or beef, or lamb, or a mix of the three)
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano (Parmesan)
1 egg
Salt
Black pepper in a grinder
1 cup flour, spread on a plate
Vegetable oil for frying
For the bèchamel:
4 1/2 cups milk
6 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
To finish:
1 pound rigatoni
3/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup milk
Make the meatballs: Heat the milk, but don’t let it simmer.
Tear pieces of the white bread into it and let it soak for 5 minutes,
before picking it up with your hand, squeezing it of excess milk and
putting it in a large mixing bowl.
Add the pork, garlic, parsley, grated cheese, egg, salt, and pepper.
Combine all the ingredients with a fork until they are evenly mixed (or
“amalgamated”, as Hazan so charmingly says).
Pinch off a small lump of meat, about the size of a raspberry and
roll the lump into a ball in the palm of your hands. (Hazan says if you
are good with your hands, you can try making 3 balls at a time. It turns
out, I am not.) When all the meatballs have been shaped (a process that
took less time than I had expected, just the same), roll them in the
flour, 15 to 20 at a time. Place the floured meatballs in a strainer and
shake it smartly to dispose of excess flour.
Put enough vegetable oil in a skillet to rise 1/4-inch up the sides
of the pan and turn on the heat to medium high. When the oil is hot, put
as many meatballs in the skillet as will fit without overcrowding.
Brown them until they form a nice crust all around. When one batch is
done, transfer it with a slotted spoon to a platter covered with paper
towels to drain and do the next batch until all are done.
Make the bèchamel: Heat the milk over low heat in a saucepan
until it forms a ring of pearly bubbles, but do not let it break into a
boil. In a larger saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, add the flour
and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or flat whisk until
combined. Add 2 tablespoons of milk at a time to the flour and butter
mixture, stirring steadily and thoroughly, then repeat through 8
additions. At this point, you can add the milk in 1/2 cup increments,
stirring constantly to keep it smooth. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg
and stir the sauce until it thickens.
Assemble the dish: Cook the rigatoni in a pot of well salted
water. Drain when still al dente, and combine immediately in bowl with
two-thirds of the bèchamel, half the grated cheese, and all the
meatballs.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Heavily butter a 9×13 baking dish.
(Original recipe calls for a 12-inch springform, which I am sure would
be lovely but is not the commonest U.S. cake pan.) Spread the rigatoni
and meatball mixture in the pan, leveling it off with a spatula. Pour
the milk over the dish, the spread the rest of bèchamel on top, and
sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.
Place in the uppermost level of the preheated oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until a golden brown crust forms on top.
A Smitten Kitchen
recipe.
