How to make Colm O'Gorman's baked three-cheese pasta in under an hour

There is something deeply satisfying about cooking in a single pot, adding the ingredients as you go... and of course, it also saves on the washing up which is a huge positive

Colm O'Gorman's baked three-cheese pasta with sausage, fennel, and basil

I do love a one-pot dish. There is something deeply satisfying about cooking in a single pot, adding the ingredients as you go and building up the complete dish as you cook. And of course, it also saves on the washing up which is a huge positive. This week’s recipe combines my grá for a one-pot dish with my adoration of a much more complicated dish to cook... lasagne.

I shared my recipe for the ultimate lasagne here in this column a few weeks back and it went down a storm. It is a beautiful recipe, but it does take some time and effort to prepare, so I wanted to come up with a simpler dish that would be quicker and easier to cook. I decided to draw upon my lasagne recipe and use pork sausages as the protein in this baked pasta dish  — and as I do with my lasagne, to cook the pork with crushed fennel seeds to match the flavour profile of sweet Italian sausage. I also added some chilli flakes for a little kick of spice.

Instead of bechamel, I used dollops of creamy ricotta and lots of buffalo mozzarella and topped the pasta bake with grated parmesan. I mean, why use just one lovely Italian cheese when you can use three, right?

You can use any dried pasta shape for this recipe. I love to cook this dish with a very large dried pasta shape such as fussilloni, a big, thick, spiral-shaped pasta, or conchiglioni, which are very large pasta shells. Both work beautifully for this dish — not only do they look visually stunning, but they also soak up lots of the gorgeous sauce. Any dried pasta shape that you have to hand will work well though; penne, macaroni or regular fusilli would all be good.

Serve this baked pasta dish with a green salad and freshly baked crusty bread.

This dish makes for great leftovers. It arguably tastes even better the day after you have made it. Just reheat it in a microwave and add some more grated parmesan and chopped fresh basil and you will be transported back to food heaven in a flash.

Baked three-cheese pasta with sausage, fennel, and basil

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

This dish makes for great leftovers. It arguably tastes even better the day after you have made it.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 45 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 450g pork sausages

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 ½ tsp fennel seed

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 2 tsp chilli flakes

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 2 tins cherry tomatoes

• 250ml water

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt

• 300g dried fusilli

• 125g ricotta cheese

• 250g buffalo mozzarella

• 100g parmesan cheese

• A good grind of black pepper

• 20g fresh basil

Method

1. Heat your oven to 190° Celsius.

2. Remove the sausages from their skins and cut them into small chunks. Peel and chop the garlic. Lightly crush the fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle.

3. Heat a large oven-proof skillet over a high heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil starts to shimmer, reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped sausages. Cook the sausages, stirring regularly, until they begin to break down and are nicely browned — about five minutes will do it. If the sausages are not breaking down properly, you can use a potato masher to crush them into smaller pieces as you cook.

4. Add the chopped garlic and cook for a minute or two before adding the crushed fennel seeds, dried oregano, and the chilli flakes. Stir those in and cook for one more minute. Add the tomato paste and stir that through.

5. Next, add the two tins of cherry tomatoes and their juices, along with 250ml of water. I use the water to rinse the tins and then add that to the pan so that I get all the tomato juice into the dish. Bring the pan to the boil and add the salt. Reduce to a simmer and add the dried pasta.

6. Stir the pasta in, making sure it is covered in the sauce and cook for eight minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

7. Break the mozzarella into bite-sized chunks and stir half through the sauce. Grate the parmesan. Use a spoon to dollop the ricotta across the top of the pan. Add the rest of the mozzarella and the grated parmesan to the top of the pasta and pop it in the oven to bake for 15 minutes.

8. Check to see if the pasta is cooked though, giving it an extra few minutes in the oven if needed. Cooking time will depend upon the size of the pasta shapes you use. Larger, thicker pasta will need about 18 minutes in the oven. If you use regular fusilli or penne, fifteen minutes will likely be plenty. Check by trying a piece of the pasta — taking care as it will be hot. If it is nicely cooked with just a little bit of bite, it is perfect.

9. The cheese should be bubbly and golden by now. If you wish, you can flash it under a hot grill for just a few minutes to crisp up the top a little to get some nice crispy pieces of cheesy pasta, a bit like the lovely edges of a beautifully cooked lasagne.

10. Remove the pan from the oven, top it off with a good grind of black pepper and let it cool for five minutes. Rinse and roughly chop the basil leaves and scatter the lot across the top of the pasta just before you serve.