members recipes

This baked pasta dish requires a bit of prep work but once you\'ve put the whole thing together, you can keep it in the fridge till you\'re ready to bake it, which makes it ideal for entertaining ;-) Just make sure you allow the sauce and pasta to cool down before mixing otherwise the pasta will soak up too much of the sauce, leaving it dry once it\'s baked. If you\'re baking the pasta straight away, there\'s no need to cool the boiled pasta or sauce first .

Ingredients
Meatballs:

approx• 600g of minced beef and veal (50/50)

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

about 1/2 cup of fine breadcrumbs

about 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan

1 large egg

Salt and pepper to season

Some olive oil for frying



Tomato sauce:

2 large jars of passata (about 1400ml in total)

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

About 10 basil leaves, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to season

Extra virgin olive oil



You\'ll also need:

400g - 450g dried pasta (i usually use penne or tortiglioni )

approx• 3/4 cup of finely grated parmesan

2 balls of mozzarella, cut into small cubes

approx• 2 small handfuls of provalone cheese, cut into small cubes (you could also use Fontina, Gruyere, Edam or Emmentaler...different flavour but also good )

6 large slices prosciutto cotto (Italian cooked ham), chop into little squares

A large baking dish (eg.lasagne dish)

Method
Step 1 - Meatballs

1. Using your hands,mix everything together then wet your hands again and form the mixture into small meatballs.
2. Fry them a little olive oil till browned then set aside.

Note: i usually zap the chopped onions in the microwave for a couple of minutes to soften them. Just a personal preference.

Step 2 - Tomato Sauce

1. In a large saucepan, heat a good lug of olive oil till just hot. Add the onion and garlic and fry gently for a few minutes, till soft.
2. Pour in the passata , stir well then throw in the fried meatballs and season with some salt and pepper. Let it cook for about 30 mins then add the basil and continue cooking for just a couple of minutes.

Note: You can make the meatball sauce the day before if you like.

1. Once you\'ve cooked your meatballs/sauce , cook your pasta. It should be a little UNDER al dente.
2. Add the sauce to the drained pasta and mix well, drizzling with just a dash of olive oil.
3. Place about 1/4 of the pasta mix into the baking dish. Sprinkle with about 1/4 of the ham and cheeses. Repeat the layers finishing off with the cheeses.
4. Drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, then cover with a large sheet of aluminium foil (make a kind of dome so the foil doesn\'t actually sit on the pasta).
5. Bake in a preheated oven (190C fan oven) for about 40 mins ( remove foil for the last 10 mins). It should be nice and hot in the middle.
6. Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing.