Weekly Recipe: Baked Mostaccioli by Chef Greg Baxtrom

A home-cooked meal can turn a bad day into a comforting evening, just like a call or a hug from mom can turn a frown upside down.

Chef and restaurateur Greg Baxtrom imbues this feeling into everything he makes, especially at his New York City restaurant Patti Ann’s, which is named for his own mother.

See also: Weekly Recipe: Pie and Mash by Cornman Farms' Chef Kieron Hales

The family-friendly eatery welcomes hungry diners to its Brooklyn doors for a meal of elevated favorites, all of which take inspiration from his Midwestern childhood.

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Now, you can bring some of that home-grown flavor to your own kitchen and share his recipe for baked Mostaccioli with your own loved ones.

Warm, inviting and totally filling, this baked pasta dish doesn’t take too long and requires some standard yet delicious ingredients. Start by making your own ragu, or meat sauce, combining three types of cheese with a special blend of herbs, garlic and spices. From there, you just cook the rigatoni pasta, put it in the oven, and chow down!

Baked Mostaccioli

Ingredients:

Mostaccioli Ragu

• 100 g olive oil
• 50 g salt
• 900 g onion, sliced
• 5 g dried oregano
• 50 g Patti Ann's Spice
• 100 g roasted garlic puree
• 5 lbs crushed tomatoes, canned
• 375 g white wine
• 4 lb ground beef, 80/20 blend

Baked Mostaccioli

1 qt mostaccioli ragu

• 1 lb dried rigatoni
• 100 g parmesan
• 250 g stracciatella
• 250 g caciocavallo

Directions:

Mostaccioli Ragu

1. Season the ground beef with salt, spice mix and oregano by hand, thoroughly mixing.
2. Heat the olive oil over high heat in a rondeau until shimmering, then add meat, making sure to brown.
3. Cook until done, stirring often to work out any clumps.

Baked Mostaccioli

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a large stock pot, boil 4 qts of water, seasoned heavily with salt.
3. Cook rigatoni until al dente, then drain and rinse under cold water.
4. In a clean saute pan, add mostaccioli ragu, cooked pasta and parmesan. Coat the pasta with sauce, and taste for salt.
5. Transfer the pasta into an oven-safe baking dish. Using a spoon, speed the stracciatella over the pasta.
6. Sprinkle caciocavallo cheese over the pasta, and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown.
7. Let cool until it’s safe to eat, and enjoy!

Visit Patti Ann’s in Brooklyn and follow chef Baxtrom on Instagram for more heart-warming food inspiration.