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Gratin of Rigatoni

This is a delicious pasta dish. Oven roasted vegetables have a magical, toasted concentrated flavour, and they keep their colours intact.

Serves 4

Difficulty
Easy
Preparation Time
30 minutes to 1 hour
Cooking Time
1 hour
Bob's  Kitchen Recipe Card

Ingredients for  4  Servings

  • 175g
    Rigatoni
  • 450g
    Tomatoes, skinned and quartered
  • 50g
    Black olives, pitted and chopped
  • 50g
    Mozarella cheese, grated
  • 4
    Anchovy fillets, chopped
  • 2
    Medium courgettes
  • 1
    Small aubergine
  • 1
    Medium onion, peeled and chopped into chunks
  • 1
    Small red pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks
  • 1
    Small yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks
  • 1 tbsp
    Capers
  • 2
    Garlic cloves, chopped
  • -
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • For the Sauce

  • 570ml
    Milk
  • 30g
    Plain flour
  • 30g
    Butter
  • 3 tbsp
    Reggio parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1
    Bay leaf
  • -
    Nutmeg
  • For the Topping

  • 1 tbsp
    Parmesan cheese

Approximate Times

  • Preparation :
    30 minutes to 1 hour
  • Cooking :
    1 hour

Method

  1. Start off by preparing the courgettes and aubergine 1 hour ahead of time: chop the into 4cm chunks, leaving the skins on, and layer the in a colander with a sprinkling of salt between each layer. The put a suitable sized plate on top and weight it down with something heavy - this will draw out any bitter juice from the vegetables. After 1 hour, squeeze them dry in a clean teacloth.
  2. Preheat the oven to 260°C/Fan 240°C/Gas 10.
  3. Now arrange all the vegetables on a large shallow baking tray and sprinkle with olive oil and chopped garlic. Give everything a good mix to coat all the pieces with the oil, then spread them out a much as possible. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then roast them on a high shelf in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until they are browned and charred at the edges.
  4. Meanwhile make up the sauce by placing the milk, flour, butter and bay leaf in a saucepan, then bring it up to simmering point, whisking all the time until you have a smooth glossy sauce. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and a good heaping of nutmeg, then turn the heat down to low and let the sauce cook for 2 minutes. After that, stir in the reggio parmesan cheese.
  5. About 5 minutes before the vegetables are ready, cook the rigatoni in a large pan of boiling water for exactly 6 minutes (no longer).
  6. Next drain the rigatoni in a colander, transfer it to a large mixing bowl and combine it with the roasted vegetables, olives, anchovies, capers and the sauce. At this point turn the heat down to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6 (leaving the door open to cool it down a bit quicker). Now spoon one-third of the mixture into a shallow baking dish, sprinkle half the mozarella on that, followed by another third of the mixture and then the remaining mozerella. Finally spoon the last third of the mixture, with one heaped tablespoon of parmesan sprinkled on top. Bake in the oven for another 6 minutes, and serve very hot with a leafy salad.