Baked pasta dishes (pasta al forno) are Italian comfort food at its finest. Even if you don't have a Nonna, you can still appreciate the home-cooked warmth that this dish brings.
Produced in a facility that processes milk, sesame, eggs, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mustard, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybean and sulphites.
500 g
Ground Beef
340 g
Fusilli
(Contains Wheat)
12 g
Garlic
100 g
Shallot
740 mL
Crushed Tomatoes
113 g
Baby Spinach
14 g
Basil
2 tbsp
Balsamic Vinegar
(Contains Sulphites)
100 g
Ricotta Cheese
(Contains Milk)
1 cup
Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
(Contains Milk)
1 tsp
Chili Flakes
1 tsp
Sugar*
1 tbsp
Oil*
1 tsp
Salt and Pepper*
2 tsp
Salt*
Before starting, preheat your broiler to and wash and dry all produce. Heat Guide for Step 4: 1/8 tsp mild, 1/4 tsp medium, 1/2 tsp spicy and 1 tsp extra-spicy! Add 10 cups water and 2 tsp salt in a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, peel, then cut shallots into 1/4-inch pieces. Peel, then mince or grate garlic.
Heat a large oven-proof pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add 1 tbsp oil, then beef. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up beef into smaller pieces, until no pink remains, 4-5 min.**
While beef cooks, add fusilli to the pot of boiling water. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 10-12 min. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain.
While fusilli cooks, add shallots, garlic and 1/4 tsp chili flakes (NOTE: Reference Heat Guide) to the pan with beef mixture. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until shallots soften, 3-4 min. Add crushed tomatoes, vinegar and 1 tsp sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, 8-10 min.
Add fusilli, spinach and reserved pasta water to the beef mixture. Stir, until spinach wilts, 1-2 min. Season with salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat. (NOTE: If you do not have an oven-proof pan, transfer mixture to a lightly oiled 9x13-inch baking dish.) Dollop ricotta over pasta, then sprinkle over mozzarella. Broil in middle of oven, until cheese melts, 4-5 min.
Divide fusilli al forno between plates and tear over basil leaves.