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Recipe: Imqarrun il-forn
Recipe: Imqarrun il-forn
This flavourful Maltese dish is a baked pasta casserole that is typically made with rigatoni. The dish was inherited from Sicily, but is nowadays a staple of Maltese cuisine. Chef Michael Diacono shows us his take on this family-favourite recipe .
ingredients
For the ragu
½ aubergine
2 carrots
200g beef liver, diced
250g minced beef
250g minced pork
4 tbsp kunserva
500ml tomato sauce
For the pasta
500g penne rigatoni
4 eggs
500ml milk
200g Parmesan
method
- Start by making the ragu. Dice the carrots and the aubergine.
- Fry the aubergine in a pan in vegetable oil making sure there is enough oil in the pan. The aubergine will absorb the oil and then start to burn.
- When the aubergine is golden add the carrot and allow to cook for a few more mins.
- Add the liver and allow to cook until the liver browns.
- Add the minced beef and pork and season with salt and pepper.
- Allow to cook until the meat is browned on all sides.
- Add the kunserva and mix well and cook for a few mins to allow the kunserva to be absorbed by the meat.
- Add the tomato sauce, adding a little water if the sauce is too dry.
- Cover, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 1 ½ hours, making sure that the sauce isn’t too dry.
- Boil the pasta in salted water leaving a little raw. If the packet says to cook for 12 mins, cook for 8 as the pasta will continue to cook in the oven.
- Grease a dish with butter and dust with polenta.
- In a separate bowl beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the milk and mix well.
- When the pasta is ready add a layer to the bottom of the dish, a layer of the ragu and a layer of cheese.
- Repeat the same layers until all the pasta and sauce has been used up.
- Pour over the egg and milk mixture over the top.
- Add a little more pepper and bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 30 mins.
