Recipe: Baked snails from Gragnano with Chianina IGP ragout

Today we propose to you a special recipe: lumaconi from Gragnano baked with Chianina PGI meat sauce. 

Baked pasta is a purely Italian specialty that comes from our tradition of “pasta eaters”. It may sound like an unrefined expression, but how many times have we ended up with leftover pasta and not known how to reuse it? 

 

Well, especially in the southern regions - primarily Campania and Sicily - we have been taught that leftover pasta can be baked with béchamel sauce, thus taking on a different consistency but a whole new flavor. Baked pasta, besides being a recipe, is also a cooking technique that adapts very well to certain types of recipes. We recommend a very simple recipe that uses high-quality ingredients for a succulent and definitely tasty dish.

 

Let’s combine the Center and the South of Italy: the most authentic Tuscany and the traditional Campania. 

 

 

Durum wheat semolina lumaconi from Gragnano 500g

Béchamel 1 liter
Tuscan red ragù from Chianina PGI Simone Fracassi
Parmigiano Reggiano
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Primo Cutrera

 

To prepare the béchamel, you need: whole milk 1l, flour 00 80g, butter 80g, fine salt to taste, a pinch of nutmeg. Mix the ingredients slowly in a saucepan over heat and whisk vigorously at the end until everything is homogeneous without lumps.
After making the béchamel, heat water in a saucepan until it reaches boiling and then cook the lumaconi (you can choose another type of Gragnano pasta, as long as it is large and roomy).

 

Take a sufficiently large baking dish and spread a layer of thick béchamel on the bottom.

At the end of the pasta cooking time, sauté it in a pan with the Chianina PGI sauce, mixing well. Add a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil while mixing. 

Place the pasta in the baking dish, spreading it over the béchamel.

Add all the remaining béchamel, trying to mix the pasta slightly.
Grate some Parmigiano Reggiano on the surface. 

Bake at 180° in a static oven for about 15 minutes (or in a fan oven at 160°C for 7 minutes).
Once cooked, set the oven to Grill mode and gratin for about 5 minutes.
The baked pasta is ready: let it rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving it on the table.

Enjoy your meal!