Pasta al Forno with Ragù and Mozzarella

In Italy we have 3 different ways to make pasta, asciutta (dry pasta, the most famous one made in a saucepan) al forno (baked - think lasagne) and in brodo (in a broth such as the "tortellini in brodo"). This recipe is for pasta 'al forno' and is fantastic if you want to use any left over ragù, bolognese or even a simple tomato sauce.

All you need is:

• 500g of pasta. It needs to be a big and short pasta shape such as conchiglioni (a big shell), rigatoni (ridges) and paccheri (which means 'a slap'). If you have any left over penne this will work quite well as well. 
• 300g of ragu' (click here for the recipe)  or tomato sauce
• 2 pieces of fresh mozzarella  
• Around 2 tbsp of grated parmesan 
• A few fresh basil leaves 
• Olive oil 

This recipe will make enough for 3-5 people.

The cooking process:

1. Preheat the oven at 200°C on fan (220°C in a conventional oven)
2. Bring the water to boil in a big pot
3. Warm up the sauce (ragù or tomato sauce) in a pan and keep it warm on a low heat
4. Cook your pasta for 3 minutes less than it says on the packet and then transfer into the sauce (for example if your packet says to cook your pasta for 10 minutes you take the pasta out after 7 minutes). This means that the pasta has a couple of minutes to finish cooking in the sauce, making a stickier sauce with the perfect 'al dente' pasta! 
5. Add about a little less of half glass of boiling water to the sauce
6. Toss the pasta well with the sauce and transfer it to a ceramic dish/tray 
7. Cover the pasta dish with aluminium paper and cook it in the oven for about 8 minutes
8. Take it out and carefully peel the aluminium paper off
9. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and the mozzarella broken in pieces all around the pasta. Finally, top with about 2 tbsp of grated parmesan (but we won't judge if you add more!)
10. Now, for the final part, the pasta goes back into the oven for about 7 minutes or until the top of the pasta al forno has a little colour on top and the mozzarella is melted.
11. Once the pasta comes out from the oven let it rest for about 5 minutes.
12. Serve the pasta tray at the table on a wooden board with a fresh salad on the side and invite your friends and family to dig in.

Buon appetito!