Pasta al Forno – Gluten-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Meat sauce

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
3. 3
   Add the onion and fry 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
5. 5
   Raise the heat to medium-high and add the meat. Press it flat over the bottom and leave it for 2–3 minutes without stirring, until a brown crust forms.

   Stove

   💡Brown ground beef in the pot without pressing it: leave it as one 'cake' for a few minutes until a brown crust forms, then break it into chunks. Deep browning = deep flavor.
6. 6
   Break it up with a wooden spoon and fry for 5–7 more minutes, stirring, until no pink is left and the meat browns.

   StoveWooden spoon
7. 7
   Add the tomato sauce, oregano and basil, season with salt and black pepper and bring to a boil.

   Stove
8. 8
   Serve hot 0.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡The slower the sauce cooks, the thicker it gets and the better the flavors blend. 20–30 minutes make a quick meat sauce; an hour and a half to two hours over low heat make a rich Bolognese.

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.

For the Cooked pasta

1. 9
   Cook the gluten-free pasta in plenty of boiling salted water (4¼ cups of water and a heaping teaspoon of salt for every 4 oz of gluten-free pasta), following the package directions (taste about 2 minutes early), until al dente.

   ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStovePot

   💡The water should taste like a seasoned soup, not like sea water: a heaping teaspoon of salt per liter. Add the salt once the water is boiling.
2. 10
   Reserve cup of the cooking water before draining.

   ⚙ Saving the cooking waterLadleorMeasuring cup

   💡The cooking water is starchy: a spoonful or two binds the sauce to the gluten-free pasta or the gnocchi and makes it glossy.
3. 11
   Drain.

   Colander

To assemble

1. 12
   Add the cream to the sauce and cook 3 minutes, stirring, until the sauce is pink and even.

   Stove
2. 13
   Add the drained gluten-free pasta to the sauce, with a little of the cooking water if it is thick, and toss well.

   💡Toss the gluten-free pasta in the sauce over the heat for one minute: it soaks up the sauce instead of just being coated in it.
3. 14
   Stir half of the mozzarella into the gluten-free pasta, transfer to a baking dish and sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella and the Parmesan on top.

   Baking pan
4. 15
   Bake 25–30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and golden.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
5. 16
   Let rest 5 minutes before serving.