Indulge in our Bolognese Rigatoni Cake Recipe

Everyone loves pasta, right? Just picture the impact of serving a baked rigatoni bolognese for dinner tonight. Why not give this recipe a try right now?

An unexpected delight: rigatoni cake

Who said pasta was only for traditional dishes? Surprise your guests with a bold and delicious recipe: rigatoni cake with bolognese sauce.

This preparation, reminiscent of lasagna, offers a delicious combination of rigatoni, bolognese sauce, and creamy béchamel. Serving it with a green salad will make this dish even more flavorful.

Preparing the bolognese sauce

The preparation starts with the bolognese sauce. You will need minced beef, bacon, tomato puree, a glass of milk, a carrot, an onion, dry white wine, tomato paste, olive oil, and two bay leaves.

Once all the ingredients are ready, fry the bacon in a pan, add the diced carrots and chopped onion, then the minced beef. Finally, deglaze with white wine and add the other ingredients to let the sauce simmer.

Making the béchamel

Meanwhile, prepare the béchamel. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour all at once and quickly mix to avoid lumps.

Gradually incorporate the warm or hot milk, season with salt and a pinch of nutmeg. Let it cook for at least 10 minutes, stirring constantly until you get a creamy béchamel.

Assembling the rigatoni cake

Cook the rigatoni until very ”al dente” and let them cool after mixing them with a drizzle of olive oil. Preheat the oven to 190°C. In a round 24 cm diameter cake pan, arrange the rigatoni vertically, tightly packed. Add diced mozzarella, bolognese sauce, béchamel, and sprinkle with grated gruyère. Bake for about 30 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let it cool for 30 minutes before unmolding.

Tip: choose large rigatoni or paccheri with a wider hole in the middle to better accommodate the mozzarella and bolognese sauce. Also, let the cake cool before unmolding to get even slices.