What do you feed guests for dinner? Many times, your best bet is something which can be made in a 9×13 dish because things that cook in your standard size pots and pans aren’t usually going to accommodate a group without making two or more batches, and if you’re having people over, who has time for that just before it’s time to serve? There’s one thing that most people can agree on: Italian is good. Next time you find yourself in need of a delicious, hearty dish to feed a group, try this rigatoni instead of pulling out the ole spaghetti. It’s flavorful and kind of a party in a casserole dish. The fact that’s it’s meatless helps to lower the cost and scores it a few points on the healthy scale. The fennel take sit up a notch in sophistication. You can assemble this dish ahead of time, refrigerate and bake it later on that evening or the next day.
Tip: Be sure and undercook your rigatoni, even less so than al dente (we suggest cooking as little as half-way done, we cook ours for about 7 minutes). Pasta continues to cook after it’s been drained and this one even cooks more in the oven after boiling. Failure to do so will result in mushy rigatoni… ugh. Also, sun-dried tomatoes can be chewy, so be sure to chop them pretty small so you don’t end up having to chew them down too much. Slice your fennel as thinly as possible as well to avoid large, crunchy chunks. A mandolin or food processor can make this an easier task. We had string mozzarella cheese on hand, so we diced that up for this dish. If you want to prepare this dish ahead of time: Prepare the sauce and set aside, prepare breadcrumb mixture and set aside in a ziplock bag, and prepare the other ingredients and set aside together (undercooked pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, fennel fronds, 3 cheeses and parsley). Refrigerate and assemble later on or the next day.
(Unsponsored) We find all of these ingredients at our Trader Joe’s.
Have your kids help you brush the dish with olive oil and remove the fronds from the fennel, taking note of their feathery texture and delicate aroma. As you prepare and enjoy this meal with your family and friends, teach them about the benefits that a few of the ingredients are providing their bodies:
- Fennel offers your body vitamin C, which helps your skin fight off damaging effects from the sun and pollution.
- Sun-dried tomatoes have lots of potassium, which helps to keep you from getting heart disease by keeping your blood pressure healthy.
- Tomato paste gives your body vitamin A, which is good for your reproductive system.
A few facts about Italy and its people:
- Italian men usually live at home with their parents until they marry, sometimes into their 40’s.
- Italy is very mountainous and hilly.
- More famous artists hail from Italy than from any other country.
Adapted slightly from: Four-Cheese Baked Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes
- 1 head garlic
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the baking dish
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bulb fennel, very thinly sliced, plus 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Kosher salt
- 1 28 -ounce can whole plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
- 1 pound mezzi rigatoni
- 4 ounces rosemary focaccia, toasted and cut into cubes (about 2 cups)
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
- 1 pound part-skim mozzarella cheese, cubed (could chop up some string cheese)
- 1½ cups grated asiago cheese (about 6 ounces)
- 8 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Halve the garlic crosswise to expose the cloves. Wrap the bottom half in foil and roast until very soft, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the skins from the top half and chop the garlic.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sliced fennel and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic softens, about 2 more minutes. Add the tomato paste and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 3 more minutes. Add the tomatoes and 4 cups water; stir. Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook about 7 minutes (the pasta will continue to cook later). Drain, rinse under cold water and set aside.
- Pulse the focaccia in a food processor to make coarse crumbs. Squeeze the roasted garlic from its skin and add to the food processor along with ¼ cup each parmesan and parsley; pulse a few more times until combined. Set the breadcrumbs aside.
- If you want to bake this dish later, see blog post for instructions on how to proceed from this point.
- Lightly brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with olive oil. Add the pasta and sun-dried tomatoes to the sauce along with the fennel fronds, mozzarella, asiago and the remaining ¼ cup each parmesan and parsley; toss. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Top with spoonfuls of the ricotta and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs.
- Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until golden and bubbling, about 15 more minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
