Nonna Emilia’s Baked Pasta
Some things leave their mark on you and years later, this is just that dish! I can smell it, taste it and love it like the very first time I ate it. Nonna Emilia’s Baked Pasta brings me back to simpler times when food was at the centre of the home. This pasta was a take-along for the beach. If you grew up in Sault Ste. Marie in the 60s, all the Italians headed to the beach on Sunday. They all prepared their homemade dishes and there was a feast on the sand. Imagine the longest line of picnic tables with a feast made for kings. I can still smell the beach and the sand when I cut this pasta.
Whether the beach or at home, we all gathered and there were smiles all around. Nonna’s simple, but good ingredients come together for the most comforting dish.
I miss nonna and I want one of her dishes; being in the kitchen always makes me feel her arms around me. The marinara sauce comes together with the tiny meatballs and they both give this recipe texture and flavour. In typical Calabrese style, I boil eggs and all the other ingredients are cut hunter style in big chunks. Sharp Asiago and and mild Friulano are also a part of the stuffing. Of course, I put in lots of grated parmesan.
Our favourite sauce that we made together: https://recipesatmytable.com/calabrese-sunday-sauce/
Growing up I watched nonna use everything in the kitchen and nothing went to waste. She often used bacon fat to season and fry. I don’t do this often, but today I use duck fat to fry the meatballs.
The duck fat is pure and flavourful.
Tiny meatballs: use my recipe link and take a teaspoon of the mixture and cut in half for each meatball.
Look at the brown flavour in these meatballs.
All the cheeses and meatballs lined up.
Slice the eggs.
Put a layer of sauce and then half the pasta followed by the eggs.
Then add the meatballs and the chunks of cheese.
Top with some marinara sauce and then start the second layer.
Second layer all done.
Ready for the oven.
Full shot of this extraordinary pasta!!
Nonna Emilia's Baked Pasta
A combination of Asiago, Friulano and Parmesan add flavour to this dish.
Ingredients
- 4 cups marinara sauce
- 80 tiny meatballs
- 4 tbsp canola oil frying meatballs ( I used duck fat today)
- 1 cup Asiago
- 1 cup Friulano
- 1/2 cup Parmesan
- 4 hard boiled eggs
- 1 package 500 gr short pasta
Instructions
-
Cook the sauce.
Make the meatballs. Each little meatball is about 1/2 a tsp of mixture.
Roll about 80, and fry.
Set aside in a bowl.
Boil the eggs, cool, peel and slice.
Cut up all the cheese into cubes about 1/2 inch.
Boil your pasta according to package directions. Any short pasta like penne or rigatoni is good.
Take a 9 X 13 baking dish and put 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom.
Put half the pasta in and spread it out.
Add parmesan, eggs, meatballs, cubed cheese and 1/2 cup sauce.
Repeat this again.
Wrap with tinfoil and place in a 350 F oven for 45 minutes.
Remove foil and cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
Pour remainder 1/2 cup sauce over dish.
Let sit for 30 minutes before cutting.
Looks absolutely delicious; surprising how often one finds hard-boiled eggs in these types of recipes.
They did use eggs in many of their dishes!! Thanks Roland!!