TORTA DI RIGATONI (RIGATONI CAKE): NAGI MAEHASHI
By Nagi Maehashi
I know it looks striking, but there’s actually nothing too tricky about this torta! It’s really just your favourite bolognese sauce stuffed into extra-large rigatoni tubes (called paccheri pasta) arranged upright in a cake tin. That doesn’t stop people from oohing and aahing when it hits the table though! We really do eat with our eyes. Shocking absolutely nobody, I also love to cover the top with some cheese before baking. Oh and how does this torta not completely collapse at the touch of a fork, you ask? A little parmesan cheese is the trick. Like a cheesy glue, it sticks the pasta tubes together so you cut and serve the pie in lovely wedges just like a cake!
SERVES: 6–8
PREP: 40 MINUTES + 30 MINUTES COOLING + 15 MINUTES
RESTING COOK: 2½ HOURS
ingredients
PASTA
300g paccheri pasta 1 (or rigatoni)
½ tightly packed cup (50 g) finely grated parmesan
BOLOGNESE SAUCE
2 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1½ tsp Italian herb mix 2
750 g beef mince
2 tbsp tomato paste
½ cup (125 ml) pinot noir 3 or other dry red wine
700 g tomato passata
1 bay leaf
1½ tsp cooking salt
¾ tsp black pepper
TO ASSEMBLE
Olive oil spray
1 cup (100 g) finely grated parmesan, plus extra for serving
1 cup (100 g) freshly shredded mozzarella
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley, to garnish (optional)
method
Bolognese sauce – Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pot over medium–high heat.
Add the onion, garlic and Italian herbs and cook for 3 minutes until the onion is translucent.
Turn the heat up to high. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until you can no longer see raw beef, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the wine and simmer for 3 minutes, scraping the base of the pot until the liquid has mostly evaporated. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, stir and bring to a simmer.
Simmer 4 – Put a lid on the pot and transfer to your smallest burner on low heat. Slow-cook for 1½ hours, stirring every now and then to ensure the base doesn’t catch. It should be fairly saucy as the extra sauce is needed to cook the par-boiled pasta in the oven.
Prepare tin and cool sauce – Generously spray the sides of a 20 cm springform cake tin with oil. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce, then spread 1 cup (245 g) of sauce on the base of the tin. Set the remaining meat sauce aside.
Cook pasta – Cook the pasta according to the packet directions minus 4 minutes so it is only partially cooked.5 Drain the pasta in a colander, briefly rinse under tap water, then shake off any extra water. Return the pasta to the pasta cooking pot and toss with the parmesan while the pasta is still hot. Set aside.
Cool upright pasta – Arrange the pasta upright on top of the sauce, packing them so they stay in place. Let the pasta cool for 15 minutes, then refrigerate the tin with the pasta in it for 30 minutes – this makes the pasta stiffer so it’s much easier to fill.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).
Fill pasta – Remove the tin from the refrigerator. Spread half the remaining meat sauce across the surface, then use a spatula to coax it into the pasta. (You could also use a piping bag.)
Repeat with the remaining meat sauce, banging the cake tin lightly on the counter as needed to help the meat sauce fill the pasta tubes right to the base. Toss the parmesan with the mozzarella in a bowl, then sprinkle the cheeses over the top of the pasta.
Bake – Cover loosely with foil (so it’s not touching the cheese) and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for a further 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before removing the springform tin sides. Leave the base in place. Cut into generous wedges like cake! Serve sprinkled with extra parmesan and parsley, if desired.
NOTES
1 Paccheri is like rigatoni but wider, so it’s easier to stuff just by pouring the meat sauce over. Rigatoni can be used in a pinch.
2 A mix of herbs labelled ‘Italian herb mix’ that you get from regular grocery stores.
3 If you can’t consume alcohol, use non-alcoholic red wine or just omit.
4 Slow-cooking the beef makes the fibres fall apart so the meat pieces are smaller, which makes it easier to fill the pasta tubes. If you don’t have the time for slow-cooking, simmer for 20 minutes without a lid over medium heat, then mash the beef using a potato masher to make it finer.
5 The par-cooked pasta will stand upright better (no floppage issues!) and the pasta will not be overcooked once baked.
Leftovers
Fridge 3 days, freezer 3 months.
RecipeTin Eats: Tonight by Nagi Maehashi, published by Macmillan Australia, RRP: $49.99, photography by Nagi Maehashi. Top photo by Rob Palmer.
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