Rigatoni with Rich Bolognese Sauce

Rigatoni with rich Bolognese sauce is a baked pasta with ceps, chicken livers and Parma ham, ready in about 3 hours 20 minutes. It feeds 5 to 6 and can be built a day ahead, so you only bake it when it’s time to eat.

Why This Recipe Works

The meat sauce gets its depth from a mix of chicken livers, sweetbreads, Parma ham and ceps. Each one browns in the oil and adds its own savory note. Frying them until lightly browned before the tomatoes go in builds the base of the sauce.

The sauce simmers very gently for 2 hours with the lid on. A low heat keeps the meat tender and lets the tomatoes and Marsala melt into the meat instead of staying sharp and thin.

The pasta cooks for only 4 minutes, so it’s still firm when it goes in the dish. It finishes cooking in the oven, soaking up sauce as it bakes, instead of turning soft. Tossing it in a little white sauce first keeps the rigatoni from sticking together.

Rigatoni with Rich Bolognese Sauce Ingredients

For the meat sauce

• 7 oz fresh ceps (porcini), or 7 oz button mushrooms together with 3/4 oz dried ceps
• 5 oz veal sweetbreads
• 1 onion
• 7 oz chicken livers
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 oz lean Parma ham
• 7 oz chicken breasts or veal, coarsely ground
• 2/3 cup dry Marsala wine
• 3 (1-pound) cartons or bottles passata or chopped tomatoes

For the white sauce

• 4 1/4 cups milk
• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Freshly grated nutmeg

For the layers

• 1 pound dried rigatoni
• 5 ounces freshly grated Parmesan

How To Make Rigatoni with Rich Bolognese Sauce

Prepare the sweetbreads and mushrooms

1. Heat the oven: Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) so it’s ready when the dish is built.
2. Soak the ceps: If you’re using dried ceps, soak them in warm water for 20 minutes. Drain them, squeeze them dry and chop them roughly.
3. Blanch the sweetbreads: Drop the sweetbreads into boiling water for 10 minutes, then strain them. Peel off the skin and nerves, since they stay tough when cooked.
4. Slice: Slice the sweetbreads, then slice the fresh ceps or button mushrooms, depending on which you’re using.

Make the meat sauce

5. Chop the base: Chop the onion and the chicken livers. Slice the Parma ham thickly, then cut it into strips.
6. Fry the onion: Warm the oil in a large, heavy pan, then cook the onion in it for 1 minute.
7. Brown the meats: Add the chicken livers, the ground chicken or veal and the Parma ham. Fry for a few minutes, then add the sweetbreads and keep frying until everything is lightly browned.
8. Add mushrooms and Marsala: Add the fresh ceps, or the button mushrooms and dried ceps, with the Marsala wine. Simmer gently for about 2 minutes, so the wine cooks off a little.
9. Simmer low and slow: Stir in the tomatoes, cover the pan and simmer very gently for 2 hours. Stir from time to time. Taste at the end and add salt and pepper if you like.

Make the white sauce and cook the pasta

10. Heat the milk: Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan.
11. Cook the roux: In a separate pan, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook for 1 minute over moderate heat, stirring all the time, to make a roux.
12. Thicken the sauce: Lower the heat and stir in the milk a little at a time until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and nutmeg to taste, then set it aside.
13. Cook the rigatoni: Cook the pasta for just 4 minutes and drain it. Toss it in a little of the white sauce, so the pieces don’t stick together.

Layer and bake

14. Butter the dish: Lightly butter an 8 x 10 inch baking dish with sides about 3 inches deep.
15. Build the layers: Put in a layer of pasta, then one-third of the meat sauce, then one-third of the white sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat this twice more and finish with Parmesan on top.
16. Make it ahead: If you’re cooking a day early, cover the dish and let it set for 24 hours in the fridge. Bake it at the last minute.
17. Bake: Bake for 40 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling.

Recipe Tips

• Stop the pasta early: Don’t cook the rigatoni past 4 minutes. It’s meant to be firm, because it keeps cooking in the oven for another 40 minutes.
• Keep the simmer gentle: Look for the barest bubbles under the lid. A hard boil dries out the sauce and toughens the livers and sweetbreads.
• Whisk out lumps: Add the hot milk to the roux in small splashes and stir hard each time. This keeps the white sauce smooth.
• Swap the mushrooms: Button mushrooms with dried ceps give almost the same earthy taste as fresh ceps, and they’re easier to find.

What To Serve With Rigatoni with Rich Bolognese Sauce

Cut the baked pasta into squares and serve it hot straight from the dish. A simple green salad with a sharp dressing cuts through the rich sauce, and a glass of red wine goes well alongside.

How To Store

• Make ahead: Build the whole dish up to a day in advance and let it set in the fridge. Bake it at the last minute.
• Fridge: Cover leftovers and keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Reheat: Reheat portions in a 350°F (175°C) oven, covered, until hot all the way through.

FAQs

Can I make Bolognese baked pasta without sweetbreads?

Yes. Leave them out and add a little more ground chicken or veal instead. The sauce will taste slightly less rich, but it will still work well in the layers.

Can I use regular mushrooms instead of ceps?

Yes. The recipe already allows button mushrooms, and it adds 3/4 ounce of dried ceps to bring back the earthy flavor. Without the dried ceps the sauce will taste milder.

Can I freeze this baked rigatoni?

Yes, though the white sauce can turn a little grainy after thawing. Freeze it unbaked or baked for up to 2 to 3 months, thaw it in the fridge, and reheat until hot all the way through.

Why is my baked pasta watery?

Most often the sauce was not simmered long enough or the pasta was overcooked. Simmer the meat sauce the full 2 hours and cook the rigatoni for only 4 minutes, so it absorbs liquid in the oven.

Nutrition

Estimated per serving (1 of 6), worked out from the ingredients.

• Calories: about 780 kcal
• Total Fat: 38g
• Total Carbohydrate: 68g
• Dietary Fiber: 5g
• Protein: 42g

Rigatoni with Rich Bolognese Sauce

Recipe by Paula

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

40

minutes

Cooking time

2

hours 

40

minutes

Total time

200

minutes

Baked rigatoni layered with a slow-simmered meat sauce of ceps, chicken livers and Parma ham, creamy white sauce and Parmesan. A rich dish for 5 to 6 that you can assemble a day ahead.

Ingredients

• For the meat sauce

• 7 oz fresh ceps (porcini), or 7 oz button mushrooms together with 3/4 oz dried ceps

• 5 oz veal sweetbreads

• 1 onion

• 7 oz chicken livers

• 6 tablespoons olive oil

• 4 oz lean Parma ham

• 7 oz chicken breasts or veal, coarsely ground

• 2/3 cup dry Marsala wine

• 3 (1-pound) cartons or bottles passata or chopped tomatoes

• For the white sauce

• 4 1/4 cups milk

• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) butter

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• Freshly grated nutmeg

• For the layers

• 1 pound dried rigatoni

• 5 ounces freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

• Heat the oven: Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) so it’s ready when the dish is built.
• Soak the ceps: If you’re using dried ceps, soak them in warm water for 20 minutes. Drain them, squeeze them dry and chop them roughly.
• Blanch the sweetbreads: Drop the sweetbreads into boiling water for 10 minutes, then strain them. Peel off the skin and nerves, since they stay tough when cooked.
• Slice: Slice the sweetbreads, then slice the fresh ceps or button mushrooms, depending on which you’re using.
• Chop the base: Chop the onion and the chicken livers. Slice the Parma ham thickly, then cut it into strips.
• Fry the onion: Warm the oil in a large, heavy pan, then cook the onion in it for 1 minute.
• Brown the meats: Add the chicken livers, the ground chicken or veal and the Parma ham. Fry for a few minutes, then add the sweetbreads and keep frying until everything is lightly browned.
• Add mushrooms and Marsala: Add the fresh ceps, or the button mushrooms and dried ceps, with the Marsala wine. Simmer gently for about 2 minutes, so the wine cooks off a little.
• Simmer low and slow: Stir in the tomatoes, cover the pan and simmer very gently for 2 hours. Stir from time to time. Taste at the end and add salt and pepper if you like.
• Heat the milk: Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan.
• Cook the roux: In a separate pan, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook for 1 minute over moderate heat, stirring all the time, to make a roux.
• Thicken the sauce: Lower the heat and stir in the milk a little at a time until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and nutmeg to taste, then set it aside.
• Cook the rigatoni: Cook the pasta for just 4 minutes and drain it. Toss it in a little of the white sauce, so the pieces don’t stick together.
• Butter the dish: Lightly butter an 8 x 10 inch baking dish with sides about 3 inches deep.
• Build the layers: Put in a layer of pasta, then one-third of the meat sauce, then one-third of the white sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat this twice more and finish with Parmesan on top.
• Make it ahead: If you’re cooking a day early, cover the dish and let it set for 24 hours in the fridge. Bake it at the last minute.
• Bake: Bake for 40 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling.