MALTESE BAKED MACARONI - (IMQARRUN IL-FORN) 🍅🧀🌿🥚🥘
This baked pasta is one of Malta's most loved traditional foods. Pasta is pre-cooked then mixed in a rich tomato-meat sauce combined with cheese and eggs and baked until the top gets super crunchy 😋
RECIPE - Serves 6
Ingredients 🛒
600g/1.3lb Rigatoni or Penne Pasta
400g/14oz Ground Beef
1 Small Can (200g/7oz) Corned Beef
1 Large Onion, diced
3 Cloves Garlic, crushed
3 (400g/14oz) Cans Whole Peeled Tomatoes
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1 Tsp Sugar
2 Tsp Mild Curry Powder
1 Tsp Mixed Italian Herbs
1 Gravy Stock Pot or Cube
Few dashes Worcestershire Sauce
150g/5.3oz Grated Cheddar Cheese
3 Eggs, beaten
2 Hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped not too small (optional)
Salt & Pepper
Topping:
100g/1.8oz Grated Cheddar Cheese
50g/1.76oz Parmesan Cheese
Freshly Ground Pepper
Chopped Fresh Parsley for garnish
Method:
Preheat oven to 190C/375F.
Cook pasta but not completely as it will continue baking in the oven.
In a large deep pan, heat a little olive oil and saute the onions. When they start to soften add the crushed garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the ground beef, let it cook until no longer pink, then add the corned beef, herbs, spices, tomato paste, few dashes worcestershire sauce and gravy stock pot or crumbled cube. Cook stirring continuously until corned beef is well incorporated.
Add the whole tomatoes, sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil crushing the tomatoes, then cover and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes, until sauce thickens. Stir occasionally.
Transfer the cooked pasta to a large baking dish and mix in the prepared tomato-meat sauce.
Stir in the cheese and beaten eggs. (You can either stir in the hard-boiled eggs or remove half of the pasta and crumble the eggs in between the pasta. I prefer to do it this way so the eggs will stay whole and not get crushed as they are mixed through with the pasta).
Top with grated cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper.
Bake in oven for about 1 hour, until cheese is melted and pasta is golden and crunchy.
Enjoy! 😊
NOTE: Recipe can also be made without the corned beef but I would substitute with ground beef mixed with ground pork.