Two Layer Baked Pasta

Submitted by CountryLady

"I love both red & white sauces for pasta! This recipe is easier than making lasagna yet perfect for relaxed entertaining. It can be made in advance & refrigerated for up to 8 hours or foil wrapped & frozen for up to 2 weeks. If you can't find "cavatappi" (the thick cork screw shapes), use some other short pasta such as penne or rotini."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs
• Ingredients: 21
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 5 cups cavatappi pasta
• 1 (10 ounce) bag fresh spinach, trimmed
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained,rinsed & halved
• 1 1⁄2 cups fontina or 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

• RED SAUCE

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons oregano
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1⁄4 cup tomato paste

• WHITE SAUCE

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1⁄4 cup flour
• 2 1⁄4 cups milk
• 1⁄4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• 1 pinch nutmeg

directions

1. RED SAUCE: Cook ground beef in a large skillet, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
2. Drain off fat.
3. Add next 7 ingredients& cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes& paste, bring to a boil, then reduce heat& simmer until a spoon scraped across the bottom of the pan leaves a gap that fills in slowly.
5. This should take about 30 minutes.
6. WHITE SAUCE: Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan.
7. Whisk in flour& cook, whisking constantly, for a minute.
8. Gradually add milk, 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly; continue cooking& whisking until thickened, about 15 minutes.
9. Stir in cheese& seasonings.
10. PASTA: Cook in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but firm, about 8- 10 minutes or according to package directions.
11. Coarsely chop spinach, add to the pot& give it a stir.
12. Drain well.
13. ASSEMBLY: Arrange half of the pasta mixture in a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish.
14. Spoon red sauce over top; sprinkle with artichoke hearts.
15. Top with remainder of pasta mixture.
16. Spoon white sauce over top; sprinkle with cheese.
17. Bake in preheated 375F oven until bubbly& golden, about 25 minutes.
18. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
19. If made in advance& frozen, thaw in refrigerator& add 10 minutes to cooking time.

Reviews

[shanti2]

This is awesome!!! I followed another reviewer who just added spaghetti sauce. i used a large jar of Ragu and about i/2 large can of diced tomatoes I had left over and also a small can of diced tomatoes with italian seasonings ..trying to add up to the 28-oz can of diced tomatoes called for.i omitted the spinach and artichokes.This is very much like the Baked Neopolitan Pasta from Rachael Ray I usually make,although that version has no meat. I will definitely use this again and also will try it with chicken as suggested. This went together very quickly for me.

 

[DoubleAs Mom]

This was very good!! I had to make some adjustments, only b/c of what I had and didn't have onhand. I used a jar of spaghetti sauce rather than the diced tomatoes and tomato paste, and I didn't have any artichoke hearts. But other than that, I made it as written and it was a very good pasta dish. Made a lot so we will have some yummy leftovers!! Oh yea, I used bowtie and macaroni pasta only b/c they were both half full boxes that I wanted to use up!!

 

[AKillian24]

I was sooo indecisive tonight -and this fit everything I was looking for! I didn't have ground beef, so I used chicken instead and it turned out fanstasic. Thanks!