Photos by Lily King

Time Frame:

Prep: 45 minutes Cook: 30 minutes Total: 75 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound Rigatoni
• 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

(approximately 2.5 cups, give or

take. If it’s slightly more or less,

just use it all)

• ½ cup of water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 container ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1 ½  to 2 cups mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Cook the rigatoni in a large pot of salted, boiling water. Make sure you use enough water because rigatoni absorbs a lot of water. Cook it about a minute less than the package directions so it is still hard enough to stand up. Drain pasta and rinse under cold water.
2. Toss pasta with 1 tablespoon of oil to prevent it from sticking. Then add the Parmesan cheese and toss until the cheese is evenly distributed. Set aside.
3. In a large frying pan, brown the ground beef in 1 tablespoon of oil. Drain away the fat once it’s all cooked.
4. Add the Jar of Pasta sauce and water and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for at least 20 minutes. The longer you simmer the better. Just make sure you add more water if it all boils off.
6. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes
7. Mix together the container of ricotta cheese and the egg. Set aside.
8. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Grease a 9 inch spring form pan 
10. Take the cooked rigatoni and stand each piece up on its end in the pan. Continue until the whole pan is tightly packed
11. Pour the ricotta cheese mixture into a piping bag or zip lock bag. Feel free to add a little basil. Fill noodles with mixture
12. Poor the meat mixture over top and spread evenly over the noodles. Use your finger to poke the meat into the noodles. The more patience you have with this step, the better
13. Bake for 15 minutes at 400℉
14. Remove from oven and top with mozzarella cheese.
15. Bake for another 15 minutes at 400℉
16. Let stand for 10 minutes then run a knife around the edge of the pan to help remove the spring form pan.

Megan’s Tips:

• In step 2, when tossing the pasta in oil, I insist you use olive oil because this is an Italian meal, and olive oil goes great with the sauce and cheese.
• Also use olive oil for step three, browning the meat.
• For step 10, I prefer adding a little chopped basil into the Mixture of ricotta, I also prefer putting the mixture into a icing bag and squeezing it into the noodles