How to make pasta ‘ncasciata at home, an exquisite dish for lunch or dinner with family or friends. The pasta ‘ncasciata, or Sicilian baked pasta, that we offer is a light and vegetarian version of the original, without detracting from the taste and with an eye on health and body weight. Enjoy this yummy recipe of Italian tradition
We thought a lot about what to propose as a New Year’s Eve dinner, or even as a New Year’s Day lunch, and in the end the choice fell on a true delicacy of the Sicilian culinary tradition, from Messina to be precise, pasta ‘ncasciata, a type of baked pasta with vegetables, meat sauce and cheese. It seemed like the best way to start the new year, with lots of joy and taste. To keep alive the habit of eating lentils on these days as a wish for good luck, we took the liberty of replacing the meat sauce, which appears in the original recipe, with that… of red lentils! So the dish is healthier. In fact, did you know that lentils are the legumes with the highest antioxidant content (Graf et al, Nutrients, 2019)? This, in our opinion, is a truly great way to start the new year. Happy 2024 to everyone, may it bring you health and serenity!
Ingredients for 5 people
400 grams of wholemeal macaroni pasta
400 grams of tomato puree
250 grams of red lentils
1 stick of celery
1 carrot
1 small onion
2 aubergines
200 grams of caciocavallo cheese (or other stringy cheese)
Extra virgin olive oil
Wholemeal breadcrumbs
Salt
Pepper
Chop the onion, celery and carrot. Sauté everything with extra virgin olive oil in a large pan. Combine the red lentils, tomato puree, 300 ml of water and a pinch of salt and pepper, mix. Cover with the lid and cook for 30 minutes. Cut the aubergines into slices about a centimeter thick. Place the aubergines on a colander and sprinkle with salt, let them rest for about half an hour so that they lose their water. After this time, rinse the aubergines and press them to release the excess water. Cook the aubergines on the griddle on both sides. In the meantime, boil the pasta and drain it al dente. Separately, season the pasta with a ladle of tomato and lentil sauce and mix. Grease a large deep baking tray with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and spread a layer of lentil sauce. Make a layer of aubergines, one of already seasoned pasta, diced caciocavallo, breadcrumbs, again tomato and lentil sauce. Continue in this way until you run out of ingredients. Finish with sauce, caciocavallo and breadcrumbs, season with extra virgin olive oil and bake at 180° C for 20 minutes. Enjoy your meal!