Pasta pie with pastry rigatoni pasticciati
Rigatoni pasticciati is a hearty and filling pasta pie with pastry from Trentino-Alto Adige in Northern Italy. This is a great family dish made with rigatoni, ragu, sautéed mushrooms and pastry. Perfect for using up leftover ragu or Bolognese.
Servings: 6
Calories: 672kcal
Ingredients
- 320 g rigatoni (11oz) or other pasta tubes
- 2 shortcrust pastry dough sheets store-bought (pie dough)
- 40 g butter (1.5 oz) for greasing dish and inside pie
- 1 egg yolk
- 50 g Parmigiano Reggiano or grana (2oz) grated
For the ragu
- 400 g ground beef (14oz) or mixed beef and pork
- 1-2 carrots finely chopped
- 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
- 1-2 celery stalks finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon tomato concentrate (paste)
- 500 g tomato passata (1.1lbs) or crushed/chopped tomatoes
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.
- 1-2 bay leaves
- salt for pasta and to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
For mushrooms
- 200 g fresh mushrooms (7oz) cleaned and cut into pieces
- 40 g dried porcini mushrooms ceps (1.5oz) soaked in warm water
- 40 g butter (1.5oz)
- 1 handful fresh parsley chopped
- 1-2 garlic clove peeled and chopped
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
- ½ glass white wine (2floz)
Instructions
Make the ragu
- Peel the onion and wash the carrots and celery. Then chop them finely. I use a food processor
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet or Dutch oven and add vegetables and cook until soft. Add the ground meat and brown it well.
- Add the tomato paste and tomato pulp and a bit of water if it is too thick. Add a pinch of salt, some black pepper and 1-2 bay leaves, stir well. Then cover and let simmer for at least an hour.
Cook the mushrooms
- If using dried porcini, soak them in warm water for 20-30 minutes first. Then drain them but keep a bit of the water to add to the sauce for a stronger porcini flavour! Clean the other mushrooms and cut into similar sized pieces for even cooking. Peel the garlic and chop finely. Wash the parsley and chop.
- Heat 1tbsp of olive oil and 20g butter in a frying pan or skillet. Add the garlic and cook until it starts to soften. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until they start to brown slightly. Add more butter if they start to dry out. When the mushrooms are almost cooked add the wine. Let the alcohol evaporate and then add the parsley. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Cook the pasta
- Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta al dente as recommended on the packet. Drain the pasta. Add it to the ragu and mix the two together well.
Assemble your pasta pie
- Grease the bottom and sides of your oven/pie dish with softened butter. Place one sheet of pastry dough over the dish and gently press it down to line the dish completely. You will need the pastry to overlap the edges a bit.
- Next, make a layer of pasta and ragu inside the pie, then a layer of mushrooms and then add some pieces of butter and a sprinkling of Parmigiano or grana cheese. Repeat with another layer of pasta and ragu, then mushrooms and then butter and cheese. I made 2 layers, but if your dish is deeper and you have enough ingredients, you can add another layer of pasta and mushrooms.
- Finally, cut off any excess pastry dough that overlaps the edge of your dish leaving just enough to fold it over the top after adding the pastry lid. Place your second pastry sheet on the top of the pie like a lid (you may need to cut it too) and then fold the edges of the two sheets together over the outer edge of the pie top and press them together to seal it.
Bake and serve
- Before baking, pierce the top of the pasta pie with a knife or fork a few times to allow steam to escape while it bakes. Then brush the top with egg yolk. Bake for about 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°c (356°F) until the top is golden. Allow the pie to sit for 5 minutes before cutting into slices. Then serve and enjoy!
Notes
This recipe makes enough for 6 regular servings or 4 large servings. You may have extra ragu, in which case freeze for later.
Nutrition
Calories: 672kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 349mg | Potassium: 1016mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 2707IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 159mg | Iron: 4mg