In short. The Sunday bake: layers of pasta, tiny fried meatballs, mozzarella and a meat sauce that has been on the stove for two hours. For six people, and it takes most of a morning.
Every family in Puglia makes a version of this, and every family will tell you theirs is the correct one. What they agree on is that the meatballs are fried first and stay whole, and that the sauce is not rushed.
Ingredients (for 6)
- 500 g of mezzi ziti or maccheroni
- 500 g of minced beef, for the meatballs
- 600 g of beef for stewing, on the bone, and a thick slice of bacon cut small
- 500 g of mozzarella, drained and shredded
- 1 litre of tomato sauce, preferably home-made
- 2 eggs, grated parmesan, about 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
- a small onion, basil, parsley, salt
- about 200 ml of extra virgin olive oil — half for frying the meatballs, half for the sauce
Method
1. The meatballs. Blend the minced beef with the grated cheese, breadcrumbs, eggs, a pinch of salt and finely chopped parsley. Form very small meatballs and fry them in about a centimetre of oil.
2. The sauce. In a large clay pot soften the chopped onion and basil in oil. Add the stewing beef and the bacon and brown them, then the tomato sauce and salt. Cook for two hours.
3. The pasta. Cook it and drain it while still distinctly firm — it will finish in the oven. Mix with some of the sauce.
4. Assembling. In a baking tin alternate layers of pasta, grated cheese, meatballs and mozzarella, adding sauce as you go. Finish with sauce on top.
5. Baking. Into the oven until the top is set and browned.
Undercook the pasta, seriously. It carries on cooking in the oven while it absorbs the sauce. Pasta drained at the right point for eating comes out of the oven soft.
The stewing beef is not a garnish. It cooks for two hours in the tomato and gives the sauce its body; in many families it is then served as the second course, after the pasta. One pot, two dishes — which is exactly the logic of the Apulian kitchen.
More on the first courses page.
