Hi, and welcome to a little diversion from Chocolate.....every now and then I will throw in one of my favourite recipes. This one is a particular favourite, friends will often ask if I can make it for dinner or bring along a couple of dishes for a party.
My dad is Italian and this is his recipe "Thanks DAD"
Macaroni Al Forno
Ingredients:
500g premium mince
1 bottle/tin leggo's triple concentrate paste (500g)
750g favourite pasta (Rigatoni, Penne)
1 egg
4 cloves garlic
2 cups grated italian cheese (Peccorino)
Pepper to taste
250g Mozzarella Cheese
150g Tasty cheese
2 cups grated Peccorino cheese
flour for rolling meatballs
METHOD:
In a large mixing bowl, place mince, 1 egg, pepper (to taste) and 2 cups of grated peccorion cheese. Mix the ingredients together until combined.
On a paper towl pour out a small quantity of flour....have your fry pan close by. Dip your hands into flour then scoop out (using a fork) a small amount of mixture, roll into a firm ball, roll in flour and place into fry pan....repeat the procedure until mixture has all been used....this yeilds around 60 meatballs....you can make the balls larger if you wish.
Place 2 chopped cloves of garlic into frypan along with a good dash of Virgin Olive Oil.....cook the meatballs until golden brown.
In a heavy based saucepan place contents of 500g leggo's triple concentrate paste with a dash of Virgin olive oil and the 2 remaing cloves of garlic (chopped). Fry the oil and garlic for a couple of minuites then tip in whole contents of tomato paste, stir to avoid the sauce burning.....fill up the jar or tin used with warm water and add to the saucepan....stir out any lumps....add one more jar of water and let the sauce come to the boil (if sauce is a little thick you can add a quater more water).
Turn sauce down to a low simmer, drain and add cooked meatballs ....let this cook away for around 30 mins...stir occasionaly. During this time boil the water for your pasta and turn on the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Cook the pasta till its just Al Dente, drain and place back into saucepan. Add a quantity of sauce and a handful of all cheeses and mix through. Take half of the pasta mix and pour into baking dish ( I sometimes use a disposable foil for less dishes). Scoop out approx half the meatballs and sauce and layer it accross the pasta...cover this with a layer of the mozzarella, peccorino and tasty cheese. Then pour the rest of the past a in, and cover it with the remaining meatballs and sauce. Layer on the remaining cheese and pop it into the pre-heated oven for around 20 mins or until cheese had melted and turned golden brown.
Serve and eat !!!
