TABELIA

AUTHENTIC RECIPE

Paccheri al Forno con Salsiccia e RicottaBaked Paccheri with Sausage and Ricotta

Baked Paccheri with Sausage and Ricotta
Difficulty★★★☆☆ Prep1 min Cook45 min Rest1 hr 5 min servings4

A Neapolitan festive dish. Partially boiled paccheri are layered with sausage, ricotta and mozzarella and baked into a rich, impressive dish.

Recipe developed and reviewed by the Tabelia Editorial TeamUpdated
100/ 100

AUTHENTICITY SCORE

Authenticity Score

This is the standard recipe, exactly as it’s made where it comes from — the highest Authenticity Score possible. Substituting ingredients changes this score; the app shows exactly how, ingredient by ingredient.

Ingredients (4 servings)

  • Paccheri320 g
  • Fresh Italian sausageRemove from its casing and crumble before using.350 g
  • Canned whole tomatoes400 g
  • Ricotta200 g
  • Fior di latte mozzarellaSlice 5 mm thick and drain on paper towels.200 g
  • Parmigiano ReggianoGrated80 g
  • OnionFinely chopped1 medium
  • Basil10 leaves
  • Extra virgin olive oil45 ml
  • SaltFor the tomato sauce and pasta water5 g

Method

115 min

Preheat the oven

  • 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C with top and bottom heat.
220 min

Drain the mozzarella

  • 1 Slice 200 g mozzarella 5 mm thick, arrange on paper towels and leave to drain for 15–20 minutes.
37 min

Sauté the onion until translucent

  • 1 Finely chop 1 onion.
  • 2 Heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a pot over medium heat and sauté the onion for 5–7 minutes until translucent.
45 min

Crumble and sauté the sausage

  • 1 Remove 350 g sausage from its casing, crumble it by hand into the pot and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spatula.

Ready when

Proceed when the meat has completely changed color.

515 min

Reduce the tomato sauce

  • 1 MeanwhileWhile sautéing the sausage, start bringing a large pot of water to the boil, with 10 g salt per 1 L water.
  • 2 Add 400 g canned whole tomatoes, crushing them by hand, and 1/2 tsp salt. Reduce over medium heat for 12–15 minutes to form a sauce.
61 min

Finish the sauce with basil

  • 1 Turn off the heat, tear in 10 basil leaves and stir.

Caution

Turn off the heat, tear in 10 basil leaves and stir.

710 min

Boil the paccheri until firm

  • 1 Add 320 g paccheri to the prepared boiling salted water and cook for 4 minutes less than the package time, leaving them firm.
  • 2 Drain in a colander and toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to prevent sticking.
85 min

Fill the paccheri with ricotta

  • 1 Spread about 1/4 of the tomato sauce thinly over the bottom of a baking dish about 28 × 20 cm.
  • 2 Arrange the firm-cooked paccheri and spoon a little of the 200 g ricotta into each tube, or scatter it evenly over them.
93 min

Cover with cheese

  • 1 Pour the remaining tomato sauce over all the paccheri.
  • 2 Distribute the drained mozzarella over the dish and sprinkle generously with 80 g grated Parmigiano.
1025 min

Bake until golden

  • 1 Bake at 180°C for 20–25 minutes, until the cheese on the surface is golden.
  • 2 If it browns too much during cooking, cover loosely with aluminum foil.
115 min

Rest and serve

  • 1 Remove from the oven and leave for 5 minutes to let the internal temperature settle before serving.
  • 2 Scoop generously onto plates with a large spoon.
A view of Napoli, Campania
Napoli, CampaniaItaly Photo: Armando Mancini · CC BY-SA 2.0 (resized; display cropped)

About this dish

In Naples, paccheri al forno almost invariably appear at festive gatherings and large family meals. Christmas, Easter, weddings and birthdays: this baked pasta appears wherever people gather.

Tomato sauce, sausage, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmigiano form layers in a baking dish. The oven melts the cheeses, and when the edges brown and become fragrant, the dish is brought to the table. Someone takes the first scoop. The cheese stretches. That alone brings cheers.

The skill this pasta asks for is building layers: boiling the paccheri until firm, 4 minutes less than the indicated time, making the sauce and assembling the layers. Once it is in the oven, all that remains is to wait, but neglecting any of those 3 earlier stages changes the entire result.

Chef Authen

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