Rigatoni Meatball Bake

Layered, Tender, and Deeply Satisfying

There are dishes that feel like an event and dishes that feel like home. This is firmly the latter. A baked pasta has a particular kind of patience built into it — it asks you to layer, to tuck things in, to trust the oven to do its slow, quiet work. The result is something generous and grounding: rigatoni holding onto everything around it, ricotta softening into the spaces between, a sauce that has had time to settle and deepen. It's the kind of meal that fills a kitchen with warmth long before it ever reaches the table.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Alessi Organic Rigatoni
• 1 teaspoon Alessi Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 cups baby spinach, divided
• 1 egg
• Alessi Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon Alessi Garlic Puree
• 1 cup Alessi Italian Style Seasoned Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 pounds Italian sausage, casing removed
• 1 jar Alessi Smooth Marinara
• 1/2 cups ricotta cheese, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, return to pot and toss with olive oil.
3. Chop 1 cup spinach.
4. In a large bowl, combine egg, salt, pepper, garlic, breadcrumbs, meat, and chopped spinach.
5. Mix until evenly blended and then form into 1½ inch meatballs.
6. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes until brown.
7. Add the marinara sauce to the pasta with ¼ cup ricotta, remaining spinach and the meatballs.
8. Mix until evenly combined and transfer to a baking dish.
9. Dollop the remaining ricotta on top and broil for 3-4 minutes until cheese is melted.