Two Layer Baked Pasta
Ingredients
- 5 cups cavatappi pasta ⓘ
- 1 (10 ounce) bag fresh spinach, trimmed ⓘ
- 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained,rinsed & halved ⓘ
- 1 1/2 cups fontina or 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded ⓘ
- RED SAUCE ⓘ
- 1 lb ground beef ⓘ
- 1 onion, chopped ⓘ
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ⓘ
- 1 carrot, finely diced ⓘ
- 1 stalk celery, finely diced ⓘ
- 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano ⓘ
- 1/4 teaspoon salt ⓘ
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper ⓘ
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes ⓘ
- 1/4 cup tomato paste ⓘ
- WHITE SAUCE ⓘ
- 2 tablespoons butter ⓘ
- 1/4 cup flour ⓘ
- 2 1/4 cups milk ⓘ
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese ⓘ
Instructions
- RED SAUCE: Cook ground beef in a large skillet, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
- Drain off fat.
- Add next 7 ingredients& cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add tomatoes& paste, bring to a boil, then reduce heat& simmer until a spoon scraped across the bottom of the pan leaves a gap that fills in slowly.
- This should take about 30 minutes.
- WHITE SAUCE: Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan.
- Whisk in flour& cook, whisking constantly, for a minute.
- Gradually add milk, 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly; continue cooking& whisking until thickened, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in cheese& seasonings.
- PASTA: Cook in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but firm, about 8- 10 minutes or according to package directions.
- Coarsely chop spinach, add to the pot& give it a stir.
- Drain well.
- ASSEMBLY: Arrange half of the pasta mixture in a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish.
- Spoon red sauce over top; sprinkle with artichoke hearts.
- Top with remainder of pasta mixture.
- Spoon white sauce over top; sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake in preheated 375F oven until bubbly& golden, about 25 minutes.
- Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
- If made in advance& frozen, thaw in refrigerator& add 10 minutes to cooking time.
Nutrition & Diet Analysis (per serving)
1227
kcal
61% DV
Protein
Fat
Carbs
* % Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet (FDA 2020).