Rigatoni Bolognese Bake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil
250 g carrots, peeled and finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
800 ml chopped tomatoes
2 tsp dried Italian herbs
50 g butter
50 g plain flour
300 ml semi-skimmed milk
300 ml vegetable stock
200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
500 g rigatoni pasta
125 g mozzarella, torn
50 g gouda, grated
None None basil for garnish
450 g pork mince

Preparation

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and fry the pork mince, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add the carrots, onion and garlic and fry for a couple more minutes. Stir in the tomato paste then pour in the chopped tomatoes and season with the Italian herbs, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour to create a smooth dough then, bit by bit, pour in the milk and stock while continually stirring to create a smooth sauce. Let it simmer for 5 minutes to thicken, stirring regularly and season to taste with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the cherry tomatoes for 1-2 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 5 minutes then drain and set aside.
Heat oven to 200\u00b0C/180\u00b0C fan/gas 6. Pour 1/3 of the white sauce into a 24cm baking dish and arrange the rigatoni pasta shapes vertically in the dish. Spoon over 3/4 of the bolognese sauce followed by the remaining white sauce. Finish off with the remaining bolognese, fried tomatoes, torn mozzarella and grated gouda. Bake for 35-40- minutes until golden brown and serve, garnished with a little fresh basil.