Chipotle Meatball Pasta Bake
This is a pretty serious chipotle meatball pasta bake recipe. We’ve used our awesome spicy Mexican meatballs and thrown them in with a rich tomato and red pepper sauce marbled with a velvety mozzarella and parmesan white sauce to make something very special indeed. For another Mexican/Italian fusion idea check out our Mexican Lasagna recipe.
Serves 6
Prep 1 hour
Cook 1 hour 30 mins
Ingredients
For The Roux
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons plain flour
- 600ml / 35 fl. oz milk
- 250g / 9oz Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 450g / 1 lb Mozzarella cheese
For The Tomato Sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 red pepper, roughly chopped
- 400g / 14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon tomato purée
- 2 teaspoons Gran Luchito Chipotle Paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To Finish
- 500g / 1 lb 2 oz rigatoni
- 500g / 1 lb 2 oz Mexican Meatballs
- A handful of basil leaves, roughly torn
KCAL:
166
FAT:
5.8g
Saturates:
2.7g
Carbs:
16g
Sugars:
2.6g
Fibre:
1.5g
Protein:
11.4g
Salt:
0.6g
Nutrition: PER SERVING
Method
To Make The Cheese Sauce
- Once you have your meatballs ready, make a roux. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Stir until you have a paste and cook for about 10 minutes over a low heat (taking care not to burn it). The mix should get a bit darker.
- Gradually whisk in the milk, getting rid of any lumps. Continue cooking until it comes almost to the boil and thickens, stirring occasionally.
- Add the Parmesan and half the mozzarella and stir in. Once melted, set aside whilst you prepare the rest
To Make The Tomato Sauce
- Heat a little of the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add the onion, garlic, oregano and red pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes until the onion and pepper are soft.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, Gran Luchito Chipotle Paste, sugar, salt and pepper and stir. Leave to cook for 20 minutes.
- Blitz in a food processor until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To Finish
- Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 5–6 minutes until al dente, stirring regularly. Drain.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4.
- Gently mix the pasta, meatballs, basil and tomato sauce in a large ovenproof dish. Use a spatula to partially fold in the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the top is golden and the edges are crusty.
