Oven Baked Anelletti – take the pasta and leave the gun

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Hi there,

A few years ago, we had the good fortune to visit Sicily. On the itinerary was a visit to the town of Corleone. Now, in our house on Christmas Eve instead of watching It’s a Wonderful Life or even National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, we watch The Godfather. A bit strange I know, but true. My husband, sons and most of his friends frequently use lines from The Godfather as shorthand to explain everyday situations. The movie has entered into the lexicon of our lives. So, of course the men were chomping at the bit to see the fabled town. The women, who like the movie but are not enamored by it, found out that there is a famous restaurant in Corleone called Leon D’Oro that gives cooking lesson. So it seemed like a win win for all.

The men balked at taking the cooking lesson. They informed us they would find a cafe and wait for us but under no circumstances were they taking a cooking class. Well, as it turns out the only gig in town was Leon D’Oro and it was either take the class or sit outside and wait for us for a couple of hours. So this is what they did:

The guys did have a lot of fun. Although, they all thought they were Clemenza and bandied about his iconic line, “Come over ‘ere, kid. Learn something. You never know, you might have to cook for 20 guys some day.”

Here is one of the dishes we prepared that day – Oven Baked Anelletti

Sicilians build things like they will live forever and eat like they will die tomorrow. ” – Plato. 

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb anelletti pasta
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 1 box of mirepoix
  • 2 26 ounce boxes of Pomi chopped tomatoes
  • 24 ounces of tomato sauce – I used Rao’s marinara
  • 2 lbs of ground veal – I substituted 1lb of ground chicken and 1lb of ground beef
  • 1/2 cup of white wine
  • 2 parmesan rinds
  • 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • 3 medium sized purple eggplants
  • 34 ounces of chopped mozzarella
  • 1/4 cup ofgrated parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup of toasted breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 stick of butter

For the Ragu Sauce:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a deep pot and sauté the mirepoix until golden.
  2. Add the meat and thoroughly brown.
  3. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to the mixture.
  4. Add the white wine and cook until evaporated.
  5. Next add the chopped tomatoes and cook for about 15 minutes.
  6. Then add the tomato sauce.
  7. Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and cook for 4 hours.

For the eggplant:

  1. Peel the eggplants and cut into large pieces. I cut the eggplants into 1/2inch discs and then quartered the circles.
  2. Either brown the eggplant pieces in olive oil on top of the range or cook in a air fryer until brown.

For the Pasta:

  1. When the Ragu has cooked 3 hours add the eggplant to the sauce.
  2. At 4 hours turn off the sauce and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  3. Butter a large oven proof dish.
  4. Combine the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and cover the sides and bottom of the dish.
  5. Bring a well salted pot of water to a rolling boil and cook the pasta for 3 minutes.
  6. Drain well and combine the sauce and the pasta and the mozzarella cheese.
  7. Put in the buttered dish and top with bread crumb mixture.
  8. Dot the top of the Anelletti mixture with butter.
  9. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

Special Notes: This looks like a lot of work but I make the Ragu the day before. I think any Italian sauce always improves with age and it makes it an easy dish for company. This makes enough pasta for 8 people with leftovers. I start with a Sicilian Blood Orange Salad. And, yes I know that oranges symbolize death in the movie but I assure you no-one has ever died while eating at my table. After the salad I then serve the pasta with chicken cutlets and then, what else, cannoli for dessert. I hope you enjoy.

Talk soon, ❤️💕 Bernadette

22 responses to “Oven Baked Anelletti – take the pasta and leave the gun”

  1. Bern- this sounds wonderful!!! I’m having a small group this weekend and this is the perfect dish!!!
    I’ll let you know the reviews!
    I love love love your blog- keep those great stories, experiences and recipes coming!!! ❤️

    • You are the best reviewer and loyal supporter Rita. This is a perfect company dish. I had a dinner party of 8 last Friday and it was perfect. If you can’t get the anelletti let me know. I have an extra bag in the pantry.

  2. Love all the layers of flavors in this dish! I also find that Ragu taste better after a night’s rest in the fridge. 🙂

  3. Tanooki – On her way to home cooking culinary journey. When there is a yummy homemade food, there is a smile:) & food coma;)
    Tanooki says:

    I agree that sauce improves with age! The dish looks perfect❤️

  4. Chef Mimi – As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!
    chef mimi says:

    What fun! those 3 amigos are good sports! Great looking pasta. I just bought some of that pasta shape, so I’m excited!

  5. the Painted Apron – Life is all about creativity for me, as long as I'm creating something I am happy! I hope I will inspire your daily life and give you ideas for your own wonderful creations!
    the Painted Apron says:

    What fun and such a great experience for your family! I must confess I was smiling the whole time I was reading, so much fun! I have never had anelletti pasta, it looks and sounds so good! I liked your tip on making the sauce in advance for the flavors to develop. We are avid Christmas Vacation lovers, we watch it every Christmas and now even my grandsons can quote lines from the movie 😂
    Jenna

      • the Painted Apron – Life is all about creativity for me, as long as I'm creating something I am happy! I hope I will inspire your daily life and give you ideas for your own wonderful creations!
        the Painted Apron says:

        hahaha!

  6. Karen – New England – I travel the back roads of the world, sharing great food and interesting places and enjoyable pastimes.
    Karen says:

    It sounds like a delicious dish and had to be great fun to make during your cooking class.

  7. Time Traveler of Life – Where my Motor Home is! – Biography Creating worlds, characters, and wielding power like a madwoman, making my characters happy, sad, angry, and some of them with no redeeming qualities. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I sometimes laugh out loud when I am writing a scene, and I have been known to cry when one of my favorites has to die. I am a left-handed Gemini, what do you expect? Reading bedtime stories to my two children until they fell asleep or until they just told me to go away, was fun. Making up wild stories for my grandchild, and creating Halloween costumes from Cowboys to a Dragon, was another favorite thing to do. I missed that so much when they were grown, that I started writing. My yearly newsletters frequently were drafted third-person by my Love Birds, Miranda our motorhome, and by Sir Fit the White Knight, our faithful Honda. Throughout the years, some of my creative talents centered around writing letters of complaint expressing my displeasure with services or products. One crucial, at least to my Son, was a note to our local school bus driver petitioning her to allow him back on the bus. He was kicked off for making an obscene gesture at his buddy. I reminded her that it was not directed at her, and that “obscenity can be in the eye of the beholder,” kids use that gesture as a greeting. He rode the bus until he graduated. I loved driving my English teacher crazy. Leaving a “continued next week” at the end of my five handwritten pages required each week. He was one of many people that suggested I “do something about my writing.” I graduated from the School of Hard Knocks at the top of my class. After 30 years, in the trenches as a Real Estate Professional, I have found that truth is stranger than fiction. My books are filled with characters I met in that profession. Their names were changed to protect the guilty. Others were from people we met traveling around the country in Miranda, our Motorhome. I am married nearly 60 years to the love of my life, Shirl, and partner-produced two exceptionally talented children, and one grandchild who is our pride and joy.
    Time Traveler of Life says:

    I always love to look at the fancy dishes that chefs prepare, then I go into the kitchen and cook my plain fare. I am a fairly good spaghetti cook and make a mean chocolate cake with fudge frosting. I am envious of people that can make wonderful-looking dishes. Looking forward to more.

  8. This dish takes a long time to cook but it sounds worth it.

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