Bolognese pasta bake
- Anna Glover
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Serves 6
Easy
Prep: 40 mins
Cook: 2 hrs and 30 mins
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Make this decadent, grown-up take on a pasta bake with a rich ragu and a layer of creamy béchamel sauce to make it extra luxurious
Freezable
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Make this recipe for a bolognese pasta bake, then try our spinach pasta, vegan bolognese, bolognese pizza, healthy spaghetti bolognese, halloumi pasta and baked bolognese risotto.
Looking for more comforting pasta bakes? Try our chorizo pasta bake, chicken and bacon pasta bake and meatball pasta bake.
Chef's tips for bolognese pasta bake:
- Transfer to two or three smaller baking dishes and freeze in batches for smaller portions, and clever batch cooking
- Make the bolognese ragu a few days in advance to improve the flavours and speed up the prep time, or make a large batch and keep in the freezer
- Add the parmesan rind to the bolognese ragu if you have one in the freezer, or if you finish the parmesan wedge while making this recipe – it adds richness and savouriness to the ragu
Can it be made in advance?
Make the bolognese in advance, or freeze the whole pasta bake for quick midweek meals. Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days.
Bolognese pasta bake recipe
Ingredients
Nutrition
-
500g short pasta tubes like rigatoni or penne
-
1 mozzarella ball
drained and chopped
BOLOGNESE RAGU
-
2 tbsp olive oil
-
1 onion
finely chopped
-
1 celery stick
finely chopped
-
1 carrot
finely chopped
-
3 garlic cloves
finely chopped
-
500g beef mince
-
3 tbsp tomato purée
-
150ml red wine
-
2 bay leaves
-
400g tin chopped tomatoes
-
400ml beef or chicken stock
BECHAMEL
-
50g butter
-
50g plain flour
-
500ml milk
-
30g parmesan
finely grated
-
1 bay leaf
-
grating of nutmeg
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal796
- fat33.1g
- saturates16.6g
- carbs76.8g
- sugars11.6g
- fibre7g
- protein39.6g
- salt0.9g
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Method
-
step 1
Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and fry the onion, celery and carrot with a generous pinch of salt for 15 mins until golden and soft. Keep stirring regularly and adjust the heat so make sure they don’t burn but start to caramelise evenly. Add the garlic and fry for a few minutes until fragrant before adding the mince. Fry, turning the mince in the veg, for 10 mins until well browned. Add the purée and cook for another 5 mins until it turns dark red. Stir in the wine, bay leaves, tomatoes and stock to just cover the mince. Bring to a simmer, put on the lid onand cook for 1 hr over a low heat. Remove the lid and cook for another 30 mins to thicken the sauce. Season well.
-
step 2
To make the béchamel, heat the butter in a pan until foaming. Sprinkle over the flour and stir until it forms a golden paste. Add the milk, a splash at a time, while stirring. The flour will absorb the milk quickly, so adding it a little at a time and stirring continually will help achieve a smooth, creamy sauce. Once all the milk has been added, stir in most of the parmesan, the bay leaf and nutmeg. Season well with salt and pepper.
-
step 3
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Reheat the bolognese if you made it previously, and stir three-quarters of the béchamel through the ragu to make a thick, creamy sauce. Remove from the heat. Cook the pasta in salted water for 6-8 mins or until just cooked. Stir through the sauce and transfer to a large baking dish. Pour the reserved béchamel over the top and scatter over the mozzarella. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and bake for 25-30 mins or until golden and bubbling. Leave to sit for 5 mins before serving with a green salad and garlic bread, if you like.
Now discover more lasagne recipes.
Authors
Anna GloverSenior food editor
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