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Oven-cooked pasta
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| Always a pleasant and appetising dish, oven-cooked pasta can be prepared in a number of different ways, from the most classic Lasagne alla Bolognese to a more fanciful tagliolini or vermicelli timbales. With either meat or lighter vegetable sauces, oven-cooked pasta is a rich and wholesome main meal, which provides full nutritional value. |
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Good quality baking trays, tins and small moulds in a range of sizes are the indispensable tools for making perfect pasta timbales and oven dishes. Anodised aluminium dishes allow the food to be cooked through evenly.
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Oven-cooked pasta refers to a vast assortment of types and shapes of pasta dishes, not just lasagne or cannelloni are perfectly suited to this style of cooking but also timbales, tagliolini and vermicelli produce wonderful effects when served. Cooking times vary according to the recipe and the shape of pasta used. The cooking time for lasagne, for example, goes from 20 to 80 minutes according to the way it is prepared and the type of filling used.
In some recipes, before being cooked in the oven the pasta is steeped in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then left to cool in cold water and dried with a clean cloth. Barilla offers assistance for all family demands with a range of durum wheat pastas suitable for oven cooking without pre-boiling, maintaining all the fresh characteristics of the traditionally prepared pasta from the Emilia region.
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It is the task of the sauce or filling to bring out the best of the porous consistency of the pasta, and it is therefore the key to success in any oven-cooked pasta dish.
For Lasagne alla Bolognese, Barilla recommends its Bolognese sauce, part of the Barilla Red Sauces range; for lovers of cheese and vegetables, on the other hand, oven-cooked pasta is wonderful with these too. Dishes such as timbales and cannelloni are great when combined with brightly coloured vegetables and the taste of strong cheeses such as Gorgonzola or Provola.
The high nutritional value of oven-cooked pasta dishes make them an excellent main course, and daring cooks will have fun inventing new combinations according to the tastes and needs of their own families. Try out new, light fillings, or follow the traditional advice and instructions Barilla so cleverly offers with its wide range of sauces.
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One component that is common to many oven-cooked pasta dishes is béchamel sauce, which frames and garnishes any recipe with its creamy taste, enhancing the flavour of meat, cheese or vegetable fillings.
Béchamel sauce can be adapted to suit every taste and every dish, making it more or less liquid: lovers of lighter dishes often replace the milk with vegetable stock, and butter with vegetable fats. When you reach a certain level of skill in making béchamel, you could try to mix different types of béchamel with the different dishes.
When preparing oven-cooked pasta dishes, remember to butter the dish before adding the ingredients: if you don't, the lower layers of pasta will stick to the bottom of the dish and ruin the recipe. To make the pores in the pasta absorb the flavour in the best way, Barilla recommends you add a layer of béchamel sauce to the bottom of the buttered dish. This will be highly appreciated, above all by lovers of the crispy "crust" that forms on top of the dish when cooked in the oven.
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A FEW RECIPES FOR OVEN-COOKED PASTA |
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Lasagne, timbales, cannelloni: let your culinary imagination run wild with all the possibilities these healthy and tasty dishes can offer.
Barilla recommends, for lovers of tradition, Lasagne alla Bolognese: the hearty flavour of Bolognese ragout that brings out the perfume and consistency of the pasta. This recipe is completed with a generous helping of béchamel sauce, Parmigiano Reggiano and a sprinkling of nutmeg.
Lasagne with saffron and vegetables is also an original variation on a theme: Barilla recommends a filling made with broccoli, artichokes, courgettes, mushrooms and peppers. Mix them together with a milk- and flour-based sauce; the saffron will add not just colour but a spicy flavour that will surprise them all; cooking time 75 minutes.
And for those wishing to stun with a combination of colours and flavours, why not serve your guests a tagliolini timbale with courgettes and cherry tomatoes in Gorgonzola cream. Cook the egg tagliolini in plenty of salt water for half the time indicated on the packet, drain and cool in a dish with a little extra virgin olive oil. Cut the courgettes and carrots into small strips, fry in a pan with some butter and after 4 minutes add the tomatoes, cooking for a further 3 minutes.
Dress the tagliolini with the sauce and fill some small moulds; sprinkle with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and cook in the oven at 180° for 5 minutes.
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