Imqarrun il-Forn
Maltese Baked Pasta
Imqarrun il-forn, also known as ghaġin il-forn, is a Maltese dish of pasta mixed with a ground meat sauce and baked in the oven. It's a close cousin of American baked ziti, though its innovation is that it uses eggs, either raw or hard boiled. As I don't like hardboiled eggs, I went with the former. What makes imqarrun il-fornreally stand out is its crunchy top. The dish is baked uncovered so the top hardens and browns.
Unfortunately, this particular recipe for Maltese Baked Pasta left much to be desired. It really needed more flavor: more onion, more spices, more salt (that was my fault), more tomatoes - in other words, more sauce, but also more cheese. I made it with ground pork, and I think it really needed the stronger flavor of beef. I can't say I was that excited about the crunchy top either. I used rigatoni, but I think the smaller penne would actually have been a better choice.
I had originally meant to make timpana, a similar dish but which is encased in puff pastry before baking, but I just couldn't make myself believe that I would enjoy the combination of pastry and pasta.
Maltese Baked Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small white onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp tomato pate
- 1 lb ground pork or beef
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups passata or tomato puree
- 2 bay leaves
- butter for greasing the pan
- 1 lb penne or rigatoni
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or kefalotiri cheese, divided
Directions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add the thyme, oregano, rosemary, cumin, curry powder and paprika. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes. Add the ground pork, turn heat up to medium, and cook until browned. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the passata and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat down to low and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 2 minutes less than specified in the package. Drain.
In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, milk and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
Butter a 9"x13" or equivalent sized baking dish.
Transfer the pasta and the sauce to the prepared casserole dish. Mix well. Add the egg mixture and mix well, making sure all the pasta is coated. Gently press down on the pasta to make it denser. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese and pepper on top. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. If you have a broiler inside your oven, turn it on for a few minutes to brown the top.
Remove from the oven and rest for a few minutes before slicing.
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Adapted from Yesenia's recipe at Apron & Whisk
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