Fall is busy. School starts, sports are back, activities all around. And in the midst of the crazy, we all love comfort food as a chill starts to fill the air. And what could be more classically comforting than cheesy, meaty spaghetti? Something the whole family will love, and is even a treat for a gathering of friends. But on a lovely autumn day, who wants to be inside doing the dishes? Here’s my solution, you make this all in one pot, so no extra clean up. Cook it up, bake it off, serve it. And it is rich and gooey and everything you want in an autumn supper.
I cook this in a 3.5 quart enameled cast-iron braiser from Le Creuset, which is honestly my favorite cooking vessel overall. It works on the stove, goes in the oven, and is pretty on the table. Any deep sided oven to table skillet will work, but if you don’t have such a thing, you can use a wider Dutch oven, or cook the pasta in sauce in on the stove and pour it into a baking dish and proceed. I prefer lean ground beef for this so you don’t have to worry about the sauce being oily, or draining off hot fat. There is plenty of flavor in the sauce and cheese. Bucatini, with its hollow center, is the perfect noodle for this because it just soaks up the delicious sauce while it cooks, making the whole dish flavored throughout. You can absolutely use one of those little containers of pre-chopped onion/carrot/celery some shops carry (you need about 2 cups of veg) to speed things up, even some frozen mirepoix, thawed. I love mascarpone to add the creamy layer on top, but whipped cream cheese will work (bar cream cheese won’t melt the same way). Fresh mozzarella doesn’t really do the gooey, melty thing, so I use the shredded kind from the bag, with a little good parmesan for extra flavor.
For more one pot pasta ideas, check out my One Pot Orzo all Vodka, Artichoke and Spinach Pasta Bake, One Pot Pumpkin Goat Cheese Pasta, or Creamy One Pot Gorgonzola Pasta.
Ingredients
¼ cup olive oil
1 yellow onion
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
4 cloves garlic
1 pound lean ground beef (93/7)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
4 cups beef broth
2 Tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
16 ounces bucatini pasta
14 ounces mascarpone cheese (or whipped cream cheese)
8 ounces shredded mozzarella (from a bag)
1 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
Directions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Finely dice the onion, carrot and celery – I cut them into chunks and pulse then in a small food processor. Heat the olive oil in a 3.5 quart or larger braiser or shallow pot that is stove to oven safe over medium high heat. Add the vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are glassy and the carrots and celery are soft. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it turns a darker brick red. Add the garlic and cook a further minute. Add the ground beef and break it up with a sturdy spoon to small crumbles. Cook , stirring occasionally, until browned. Add the crushed tomatoes and 3 cups of the beef broth and stir to combine, scraping up the lovely browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the Italian seasoning, half of the fresh basil and the oregano and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Put the bucatini in the pot (it will be full) and as it softens, press the noodles down gently so they are submerged in the sauce. Cook, stirring frequently but gently, until the pasta is cooked through, with just a little bite. Make sure to stir from the bottom of the pot so nothing is catching or scorching. As the pasta absorbs the sauce, add the remining beef broth. When the pasta is cooked, taste and season with salt and pepper, and stir in the remaining fresh basil. Remove the pot from the heat.
- Dollop large scoops of mascarpone all over the surface of the dish, then cover the top completely with the grated mozzarella and the parmesan. Transfer the pot, carefully, to the oven and cook for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melty bubbling. If you like, you can turn on the broiler for a few minutes to add some lovely brown spots. Let the dish rest for 10 minutes, then serve.
- You can assemble the dish up to 2 hours ahead, leaving it at room temperature to cool, then bake. You will need to add to the baking time to make sure it is hot and bubbly throughout.
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