When a white-jacketed Italian waiter brought in a golden, crusty tower of pasta on a silver platter, it was love at first sight! After all diners admired this creation, as he cut and served the wedges, he announced that this was pasta al forno con spinaci, pomodori e quanciale – Baked Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Bacon.
This spectacular dish was part of the best four-course meal I’ve ever had in Rome. Dinner, served in classic Italian courses, was at a private club housed in a centuries-old Borghese mansion with a beautiful ancient statuary garden and posh interior appointments. Sadly, the gracious club member-host asked guests not to photograph each other or the interior appointments.
Borghese Garden, Rome, Italy
So, I committed the menu and its images to memory: Antipasti (appetizers)– fresh tomato bruschetta, prosciutto wrapped prunes, polenta crostini with burrata and smoked tuna, arancini with gorgonzola and walnuts and cherry tomatoes filled with fresh mozzarella with drinks on the veranda overlooking the garden, Primo piatto(first course), baked pasta, Secondo ( second course)– branzino filets with a silky white wine sauce served with Contorno (a vegetable side) of fresh peas and pea-shaped tiny carrots, and Dolce (dessert) — a semifreddo with nuts and dried fruit and coffee.
Every course was delicious, but I was captivated by the primo piatto – the pasta al forno con spinaci, pomodori e quanciale — Baked Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes and Bacon –large tubular pasta held together by a creamy, cheese-filled béchamel, flavored with bits of cured meat, streaked with threads of spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. I knew I had to make this molded beauty from memory.
As I began reconstructing this primo piatto, I realized that this dish is not difficult, but rather takes time and can be prepared over several days. It consists of two main components: purchased pasta and a creamy béchamel sauce flavored with several cheeses, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and bacon.
Choosing the right pasta is crucial for achieving the perfect texture and consistency in a pasta al forno. It should be firm enough so that when cooked twice, once initially and then baked, it retains the shape of the mold yet remains soft enough to absorb the flavors of the sauce.
Ridged pasta
I opted for a purchased, durum wheat, 2-inch-long rigatoni with ridges, which holds up well during baking and resembles the pasta used in the original. (Another pasta option like rigatoni is tortiglioni with larger and deeper grooves, which spiral around the pasta.) Ridges are useful and provide a larger surface area to which the creamy, cheesy béchamel sauce can adhere. The size and shape of the pasta are also important. Using large pasta pieces creates space between them, allowing for expansion as the pasta continues to cook, and prevents lumps from forming in the béchamel.
The rigatoni is cooked, following package instructions, to a few minutes shy of al dente just before assembling the mold, so the robust flavor of the sauce is absorbed as the pasta finishes cooking during baking.
Béchamel ingredients
Béchamel (besciamella in Italian), a white sauce made of flour, butter or oil and milk, is a perfect medium for combining various cheeses and for binding ingredients together. It has a soft, creamy texture that retains the taste of aromatic ingredients and smoothly coats and flows into the spaces created by the pasta.
Three Italian cheeses
An assortment of cheeses – Fontina, Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano – provides the sauce with depth. These three cheeses have similar yet distinct, complementary qualities, and together craft a complex flavor combination.
Fontina, a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese, is hard in texture but melts beautifully. It is rich, creamy and mild but distinctively savory and nutty.
Pecorino Romano is a relatively hard sheep’s milk cheese, known for its distinctive salty, sharp, and tangy taste with a slightly nutty undertone. This cheese has a robust and full-bodied texture that enlivens the sauce.
Parmigiano Reggiano, a hard, dry cheese made from skimmed or partially skimmed cow’s milk, embodies the essence of umami, characterized by nutty, savory notes. Parmigiano is a flavor bomb. It ups the flavor of the entire dish.
Quanciale — pork jowl bacon
Bacon- Although I use the term “bacon” for the meat addition, it is, in fact, quanciale, a rich and salty Italian cured meat that is made from pork jowl or pork cheek, sometimes called jowl bacon. Unlike bacon or pancetta, which become crispier when cooked and are often used as a substitute for guanciale in America, guanciale has a softer, chewier texture and is distinctly bold and savory. When cooked, guanciale adds a rich, porky flavor to this baked pasta, complemented by the spices used during its curing process. Quanciale is available online and in Italian delis.*
Sun-dried tomatoes
Sun-dried tomatoes are the secret ingredient to enjoying rich tomato flavor without coloring the entire dish red. During the dehydration process, the tomatoes darken, and their natural sugars and acids concentrate, creating a chewy texture with a distinct umami character and a complex flavor profile. When purchased, sun-dried tomatoes are hard and packed in salt, so in this recipe they are rehydrated to soften and wash away excess salt. Slivers of sun-dried tomatoes add a bright, tangy, and sweet flavor to each bite, complementing the flavors of the cheeses and guanciale.
Baby spinach trimmed of stems
Spinach blends well with the other ingredients. When cooked, spinach becomes mild, slightly sweet, more tender, soft, and smooth, with a less bitter taste that complements other flavors, creating a balanced and flavorful dish.
The beauty of this Baked Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes and Bacon is that it can be assembled in advance and refrigerated or even frozen before baking. Once these ingredients are at hand, start by preparing the savory additions and the béchamel, which can be done hours or several days in advance. Then cook the pasta just before assembling the dish.
Tips for successful baked pasta:
Generously coat the baking dish with butter to create a non-stick surface. (Olive oil does not work effectively on a cold pan surface since it tends to slide down the sides of the baking dish.)
Any baking dish will work, but a springform pan will make unmolding easier.
Undercook the pasta slightly before baking. It will continue cooking in the oven.
Taste the béchamel sauce before adding the pasta and adjust seasonings as needed. Guanciale and the three cheeses are salty, so taste each addition to determine the overall saltiness of the dish before adding more salt.
Don’t overcrowd the baking dish, leaving enough space for the sauce to bubble and pasta to expand.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil for the initial baking to prevent the pasta from drying out. But to achieve a crusty, golden top, uncover and bake for additional minutes after sprinkling with Parmigiano and breadcrumbs.
My recreation was successful! One bite of this Baked Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes and Bacon transported me back to that special evening in Rome when I tasted the original version. Large pieces of al dente rigatoni coated in creamy, flavorful cheese sauce with subtle tastes of guanciale, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach are rich and comforting. It is good hot or warm on the day made, and even better when reheated the next day. A perfect dish throughout the seasons.
Baked Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes and Bacon
For additional:
3 ounces (28.4 g). guanciale, thinly sliced and julienned (substitute with pancetta or cured bacon)
7 ounces (198.5 g) baby spinach
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 ounce (29 g). sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon red wine. vinegar
1 cup water
For béchamel:
3 ¾ cups (887.4 ml) milk
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
4 large cloves
3 large bay leaves
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
⅓ cup (40 g) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (150 g) shredded Fontina cheese (substitute with Gruyère or white cheddar)
¾ cup (75 g) Pecorino Romano, grated
½ cup 50 g) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra ¼ cup (25 g) for topping
Pinch of fresh nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
For the pasta:
12 ounces (340 g) rigatoni or other large tube pasta
4 quarts (3785 ml) water
2 tablespoons table salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Panko or plain breadcrumbs (optional)
For garnish: minced parsley or basil (optional)
Preparing additional flavorings: Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the julienned guanciale (pancetta or bacon) on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 8-10 minutes or until crisp. Drain strips on paper towels. Set aside.
Julienned quanciale
Roasted julienned guanciale
Bring 1½ cups (354.9 ml) of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add vinegar and sun-dried tomatoes. Cover and remove from heat and set aside to soak for 5 minutes. Drain and then cut the tomatoes into strips. Set aside.
Rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes
Julienned rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes
Wash and dry spinach. Trim off long stems and coarsely chop leaves. Coat a sauté pan with extra-virgin olive oil and place it over medium-low heat. Cook the spinach until it is wilted and the juices have exuded. Then add tomato strips and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Chopped spinach and julienned sun-dried tomatoes
Preparing béchamel: Heat milk, onion, black peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves and garlic cloves in a medium saucepan until simmering. Keep on low heat for 30 minutes. Do not let milk boil, but keep it hot.
In another saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. When the butter is bubbling, add flour all at once, stirring constantly with a whisk until smooth, about 3 minutes, being careful not to burn it.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the hot milk all at once, straining it through a fine sieve to remove the aromatics and whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Discard the aromatics. Return the saucepan to medium heat and stir constantly with a rubber spatula until it begins to boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook the sauce until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon (approximately 10 minutes).
Remove from heat and stir in the three cheeses, nutmeg, and season with salt and white pepper to taste.
Gently stir in bacon, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and oregano.
If preparing sauce before cooking pasta, spread a thin coat of butter or mist cooking spray on a sheet of plastic wrap, and place the butter/spray side down on the surface of the sauce, pressing tightly against the sides of the saucepan to keep air off the surface. Sauce prepared in this manner can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. When ready to use, remove the plastic wrap and gently heat the sauce until it’s hot and glossy, then combine it with the cooked pasta.
Cooking the pasta: Bring water and salt to a boil in a large pot. Add the pasta and then cook for 2 minutes less than instructed on the package, for al dente (it will finish cooking in the oven). Drain the pasta and return it to the pot, toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and keep warm, if assembling the pasta al forno right away.
Assembling the mold: Heat oven to 400°F (204°C).
Generously butter bottom and sides of an 8-inch diameter, 3-inch deep (20cm, 7cm), springform cake pan and scatter a couple of tablespoons of parmesan on bottom and sides.
Stir about 1½ cups of béchamel sauce into cooked pasta and mix well to coat. Add more sauce if needed for a thorough coating.
Spoon half of the pasta mixture into the baking dish. Pat down gently with your hands to eliminate large gaps between pasta pieces, ensuring the ingredients are level and submerged in sauce as far as possible. Add another ½ cup of the béchamel sauce. Top with the remaining pasta mixture, and add a few spoons of the remaining béchamel over the pasta if needed, smoothing it to cover the pasta completely. (Leftover béchamel sauce can be refrigerated and used with other pasta.)
Ready for baking
If you use a springform pan, as I did, wrap the bottom of the pan with foil to minimize leaking and place another sheet of foil on the top to keep the pasta moist. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until the sauce is bubbling. Remove the top foil and top the pasta with the remaining ¼ cup (25 g) of grated Parmigiano and breadcrumbs, if using. Continue baking until the top is golden and there is no evidence of liquid pooling in the center when pierced with a knife, about 15-20 minutes more.
Baked pasta with spinach, tomatoes and bacon
Cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Carefully loosen pasta from the pan by sliding a thin knife along the edge of the baking dish and release the spring form, but do not remove until pasta is ready to serve. Then remove from the pan, transfer pasta to a serving plate, and cut wedges to serve. (The baked pasta will still be quite warm after 1 hour.)
If serving later, when the pasta has reached room temperature, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve that day or overnight. One hour before serving, remove the plastic wrap and reheat in a 325°F (163 °C) oven for 45-50 minutes. Transfer the baked pasta to a serving platter using a wide spatula. Slice into wedges like a cake and garnish with fresh parsley or basil before serving.
Serves 8 as a first course.
A primo piatto serving
Leftovers, wrapped in parchment paper and aluminum foil, may be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days. Remove foil if reheating in a microwave at low power or leave foil on if reheating in the oven at 325ºF (163°C) for 30 minutes.
To in advance and freeze the whole dish: Toss hot pasta with 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil to prevent pasta from swelling. Cool béchamel, combine with pasta, and assemble it in a baking pan in which it will be frozen. Cover with parchment paper and tightly wrap with foil. Place in a zippered freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Do not thaw. Bake the frozen, covered dish in foil at 325°F (163 °C) for 45 minutes, or until the center is hot. Then, remove the foil, sprinkle with Parmigiano and breadcrumbs, and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes, or until golden.
Photo credits: Allphotos: Slava Johnson
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