The welcoming generosity of Southern Italian cuisine is perfectly represented by this typical holiday recipe. In days gone by, it was the heat from the embers of the wood stove, lit to bake bread, that completed the cooking of this iconic dish .
Ingredients for 4 portions
- Rigatoni 320 g
- Canned tomatoes 520 g
- Garlic 20 g
- Fresh basil 14 g
- Olive oil 40 g
- Mozzarella 160 g
- Parmesan Cheese 80 g
- Round zucchini 800 g
- Black olives 80 g
- Capers 20 g
- Onion 300 g
- Garlic powder 6 g
- Tarragon 40 g
- Black pepper 8 g
- Halls q.b.
Preparation
For the dough:
Precook the pasta for 6 minutes in plenty of salted boiling water, cool under running water and set aside.
Heat 30 g of extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan, add the basil stems and fresh garlic cut in half.
Wait a couple of minutes for the oil to absorb the flavors, then add the canned tomatoes.
Simmer and reduce the tomato sauce over medium heat and adjust the salt to your taste.
When the tomato sauce is ready, remove the basil stems and garlic, remove it from the heat and add the basil leaves, leaving it to flavor for 10 minutes.
Cut the mozzarella into cubes and grate the Parmesan cheese.
In a large bowl, season the pasta with the tomato sauce, add the mozzarella cheese cubes and 60 g of Parmigiano Reggiano, mixing well.
Pour the pasta into a baking dish, sprinkle it with the remaining Parmesan cheese and bake it in the oven for 20 minutes at 165° C, taking care to cover it with aluminum foil.
After this time has elapsed, remove the aluminum foil and let the pasta gratin for another 5 minutes until fully browned.
For the zucchini:
Wash the zucchini, remove the top and hollow out the inside, setting aside the flesh for later.
Precook the zucchini at 160° C for 10 minutes.
Finely chop the onion, capers and black olives, keeping them separate.
In a frying pan heat 10 g of extra virgin olive oil, add the onion and stew it, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Add chopped capers, olives, and garlic powder.
Also add the zucchini flesh and cook the mixture until it is perfectly smooth.
Remove it from the heat and add the finely chopped tarragon, then fill the zucchini with the flavored pulp and bake in a 165° C oven for 8 minutes.
Serve the baked pasta steaming hot with the stuffed zucchini on the side.
To limit our impact on the environment, we advise you to remain within 1 kg CO2-equivalent per meal, including all the courses you eat. Bear in mind that plant-based dishes are more likely to have a low environmental impact.
Even though some of our suggestions exceed the recommended 1 kg CO2-equivalent per meal, that doesn't mean you should never make them; it's the overall balance that counts. Regularly eating a healthy and eco-friendly diet in the long term offsets even the dishes with the most impact, as long as you don't make them too often.