Essentially a casserole, this baked pasta dish has a history that stretches back to the Middle Ages in Europe. Combining meat, pasta, dairy and vegetables, baked pasta dishes have remained popular in southern Italy, where they are often prepared for special events. In the United States, baked spaghetti is a comfort food, reminiscent of grandparents and family meals, that is often prepared with the basic, inexpensive ingredients that would have been readily available to Italian American families in the 19th century. Ground beef, one of the traditional ingredients in US baked spaghetti recipes, was available for sale in turn-of-the century New York for extremely reasonable rates. Baked spaghetti perhaps owes its continued popularity to the fact that it can easily be made in large quantities to feed extended family or social groupings, and it keeps and reheats excellently.
Recipe Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 16 oz spaghetti
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 jar (24 oz) meatless spaghetti sauce
- ½ tsp seasoned salt
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 5 Tbsp butter, melted
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 4 cups part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium pot, boil water and cook the spaghetti for 8–12 minutes, until just softened. Set the pot aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the ground beef and chopped onion over medium heat, stirring, until the meat has lightly browned. Drain the skillet and add the spaghetti sauce and seasoned salt. Set the beef mixture aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the Parmesan cheese and the melted butter. Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the egg and cheese mixture. Toss to coat the pasta thoroughly.
- In a greased 13 x 9-inch or 3-quart baking dish, layer half of the pasta mixture with cottage cheese followed by the beef and sauce mixture and the mozzarella cheese, repeating layers as desired until the dish is full.
- Bake, covered, for 40 minutes, and uncovered, allowing the cheese to melt and lightly brown, for an addition 20–25 minutes. Slice and serve hot.
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