Ingrdients

Tomato

olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
150ml of red wine
800g chopped tomatoes
1 handful of rocket
1 handful of basil leaves
1 finely chopped red chilli

Filling

150g of ricotta
100g of Provolone cheese, grated
75g of mozzarella cheese, grated
100g of mortadella, finely diced
1 egg
salt
pepper

To assemble

300g of rigatoni pasta
50g of mozzarella cheese, torn into pieces
pecorino, grated
basil leaves

Method

  1. fry the onion and garlic until soft then add the thyme and red wine
  2. Reduce the wine by three quarters. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 25 minutes, until the sauce has thickened
  3. Stir in the rocket and basil leaves and turn off the heat. Set aside
  4. Cook the rigatoni in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and toss with a little olive oil to stop the pasta sticking together
  5. Mix the filling ingredients together in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and transfer to a piping bag
  6. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
  7. Pipe some filling into each rigatoni tube and place in a baking dish
  8. Pour half of the sauce over the pasta, giving a gentle stir to coat evenly, then pour over the rest of the sauce. Spread the torn mozzarella over the top then cover with a generous grating of Pecorino. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes
  9. Season with freshly ground black pepper and garnish with fresh basil