Regional Blizzards and Pasta al Forno

Right now Italy is under the third week of Siberian cold. Snow storms traveling from northern Russia are bombarding Italy. The lofty mountain city of Urbino that I visited in December is under 6 feet, yes six, of snow.

Urbino today from 3bMeteo

The sun will come again, beautiful Urbino

Unbelievable. From Rome to Pescara, Naples to Milano, Torino to Bari it is snowing and Italy is totally snowed in.

Today's forcast: snow with a high chance of strong winds that slap your face

People are forced to stay in, those who need medicine can't get it, and the snow has even destroyed 2 million euros of veggies. I feel lucky that our little spot on the map is snow free. I am not sure if it is because we are close to Garda Lake, the biggest lake in Italy, and the sun might reflect from the lake...or something like that. Other people have not been so lucky though. According to this article by BBC in Ukraine over sixty people have died, 30 in Poland and several in Italy. This cold is a bummer and I will be happy when it ends.

One thing that makes me happy, for the moment at least, is food. Good winter food only comes along once a year, is rich in flavor, generous on helping grow healthy thighs, and send you to bed feeling like a cozy polar bear. Winter food does have a way of warming up the soul. In the past few days, the chef du jour has been the main cook in the kitchen, however I snatched his hat away today to prepare a favorite: Pasta al Forno. It is a variation of lasagna and is made with short pasta, such as a tube shaped one like tortiglioni, which can suck in the tomato juice and cheese while baking. This relatively simple dish is fun to make, yummy eaten fresh out of the oven and also freezes very well. I prepared two today: one for today and one to freeze. Very good stuff. I will add variations at the bottom but this is what I made today.

Pasta al Forno

Things you will need:

1. Pot for boiling water

2. Colander for straining

3. Wooden spoon

4. Aluminum baking dish 9x6 or a small cake pan (it bakes pasta better than ceramics which works better for meat)

5. Knife

6. Cutting Board

7. Large pan

8. Aluminum foil

Ingredients: (for 8 servings)

1. Four Italian sausages (average half a sausage per person per serving)

2. One bottle or 16 oz. of tomato sauce (I prefer De Cecco)

3. Two cups ricotta cheese

4. One mozzarella ball (the size of a tennis ball) These are sold in a container of water. Trader Joes has it or the shredded kind will work out too.

5. One teaspoon of oregano

6. One tablespoon of salt (most goes in the pasta water to boil and a pinch in the sauce)

7. Two cups pasta (half an uncooked cup per serving)

8. Fresh grated Parmesan cheese (it can be bought in a plastic container in the deli section)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 200 C.

2. Fill up your pot with water and start to boil her.

3. Peel the sausage and chop it in small pieces. Heat the large pan and put the pieces of sausage in there to brown. 

4. Turn down the heat and add one cup of the tomato sauce, a pinch of salt and teaspoon of oregano once the sausages are cooked. Reserve the other half of the tomato sauce.

4. Wait for the water to boil happily before adding a tablespoon of salt followed by the pasta. Boil the pasta for about 5 minutes, not till it is cooked.

Test it to see if it is slightly raw as it should be.

5. Chop the mozzarella cheese in cubes while the pasta boils.

My cheese comes in a bag with water, yours might come in a plastic container like yogurt.

6. Pour some of the remaining tomato sauce in the bottom of the aluminum pans while the pasta boils.

7. Drain the pasta with the colander then put in the aluminum pans. 

8. Top the pasta with the meat sauce then with the mozzarella cheese. Crumble the ricotta cheese evenly on top. Pour the remaining tomato sauce on top of the cheese. Mix carefully. Sprinkle a generous amount of Parmesan cheese on top.

9. Cover the pasta like a tent with the aluminum foil sheet. Leave a space so the cheese doesn't stick.

10. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover the pasta the last 15 minutes.

11. Take out and cool or serve hot. 

To freeze: allow to cool completely, then cover with the foil and freeze for up to two weeks. To re-heat: pull out a few hours before (or in the morning) and warm under low heat in the oven for half an hour. 

Variations:

1. Ground beef. I prefer to use ground beef to sausage because it sneaks into the pasta tube better. Make sure they brown in little pieces.

2. Vegetarian: I think that eggplant is a great substitute for meat in this recipe. Chop the eggplant in rounds, salt with sheets of paper towels to catch the moisture for a few minutes, rinse and press. Heat frying oil and fry till tender. Set aside and cool. Once cool, chop in cubes and heat with tomato sauce.

3. Lower calorie: skip the mozzarella and bake with just ricotta. Ground turkey can be substituted too. Or...have the regular recipe for lunch, not dinner so you have time in the day to walk it off.