Baked Rigatoni With Tomatoes, Olives and Pepper

Add a few bottled, oil-packed anchovy filets to the pepper saute for a more savory 'bottom' note. More garlic wouldn't hurt, and neither would a half a sliced onion to the saute step.

It is perfect. Pasta al forno refers to any pasta, long or short, that is cooked twice-boiled then baked, regardless of the treatment in between. (Recipe already says al dente.) There is no "classic PAF" treatment in Italy or anywhere else. Pasta is routinely prepared in advance and stored. It is required for lasagne because it improves the flavor and texture of the dish. Poor quality of tomatoes canned or otherwise is what causes bitterness. Never peel peppers. NEVER rinse your pasta.

Flavors were great, but I would have preferred a bit more sauce. If you like things saucy, consider less pasta/doubling the other stuff. My changes were: starting with puréed tomatoes rather than blending whole, sautéing shallot that I had on hand, doubling olives (next time I will triple), 3 garlic cloves (vs2) adding a couple anchovies, 4.5 oz Gruyere (vs 3oz), baby spinach mixed in at the end.

Used pureed tomatoes rather than taking the extra step/mess of using the food processor. Froze 1/2 for a later meal. Thawed before baking...delicious!!

So much wrong here:this pretends to be Pasta al Forno,but no one in Italy would ever cook short pasta,then keep it in the fridge to be used later(pasta becomes mush);so cook the rigatoni very al dente and then rinse under cold water or they will keep cooking;put the canned tomatoes through a mill,otherwise the sauce is bitter,then no need for sugar in the sauce;peel the bell pepper,otherwise it show itself later;not Gruyére,but Fontina,not Kalamata olives but Gaeta;assemble all,bake immediately.

This is one of the best of this type of recipe (i.e., rigatoni or penne baked in a tomato sauce). However, I wouldn't be so scanty with the olives, probably double next time, and take the suggestion below to add some anchovies or italian sausage.

Agree with note on noodles, but if I want classic PAF, I will make it. This is a riff on the standard. Gruyere gives a totally different effect from that of stringy, bland fontina. It almost disappears into the pasta, imbuing the dish with a deep earthiness. I used almost twice the Gruyere called for (started with just under 8 oz., minus kitchen nibbles for me and two dogs, and rind trim), so maybe the taste was more pronounced. But it was very different from PAF. And delicious. Reheats well.

This dish has become a weekly staple in our house.

I use a 28 oz tin of crushed tomatoes to cut out the food processor step and add at least a cup of extra cheese. I also use light green castelvetrano olives instead of kalamata.

When the dish is finished and out of the oven I add a layer of fresh spinach over top and lightly mix to up the vegetable content. Spinach ends up wilting just slightly and adds a bit of nutrition/colour.

Adapted this to use up herbed and roasted vegetables I had in the fridge -- sweet red peppers, red onion, eggplant, zucchini, carrot. I began by sautéing a diced onion, subbed in the roasted veg (chopped roughly) for the yellow pepper, then proceeded with the recipe as given. The olives I used were taggiasca, similar to kalamata but sweeter and softer in flavor. The Gruyere is an interesting, earthy element I would not have thought of. I would have liked to add dollops of ricotta, but had none.

Dear Russ, as a greek, I would just like to make a small note that kalamata olives are black olives as well as green! :)

@passion for peaches: most cheeses available today are made from powdered milk which could come from New Zealand for example,with all due respect to NZ.I only buy Italian cheeses which are all made from fresh milk from the zone where the cheese is made.The European Union tried to force Italy to use only powdered milk,but Italy prevailed and won. I signed that petition for the good of humanity! :)

Great antidote to Thanksgiving leftovers last night. I tinkered with the recipe adding a couple of hot Italian sausages that I sautéed to near doneness before adding to the mix. I also used one medium yellow pepper and one medium green one for a little more kick. The introductory text to this recipe calls for black olives, but the recipe lists kalamatas. Not being a black olive fan, I would have used kalamatas anyway. This will sustain us all week!

The preamble says you can make and refrigerate the sauce ahead of time, not the pasta.

I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter, and it resulted in a wonderful dish, pungent and satisfying. Because I'm not a fire-eater, I kept the red pepper flakes to the scant amount. On the other hand, the Gruyère was perfect in the amount given. Nutty--and piquant in relation to tomato sauce and pasta. Thank you.

Simple and surprisingly delicious. Made it once and immediately added it to the permanent repertoire. Thanks for the prep-ahead tip. Also, reheat leftover single (or more) portions in the microwave, add a bit of grated parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and a grind of pepper, and you have a satisfying after theatre/opera late night meal. Coarsely chop the olives for better distribution. Don't skimp on the red pepper flakes. Don't worry if it doesn't brown. No fresh basil? No prob.