Two Layer Baked Pasta

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 5 cups cavatappi pasta
• 1 (10 ounce) bag fresh spinach, trimmed
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained,rinsed & halved
• 1 1/2 cups fontina or 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• 1 pinch nutmeg

Recipe

• 1 red sauce: cook ground beef in a large skillet, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
• 2 drain off fat.
• 3 add next 7 ingredients& cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
• 4 add tomatoes& paste, bring to a boil, then reduce heat& simmer until a spoon scraped across the bottom of the pan leaves a gap that fills in slowly.
• 5 this should take about 30 minutes.
• 6 sauce: melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan.
• 7 whisk in flour& cook, whisking constantly, for a minute.
• 8 gradually add milk, 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly; continue cooking& whisking until thickened, about 15 minutes.
• 9 stir in cheese& seasonings.
• 10 pasta: cook in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but firm, about 8- 10 minutes or according to package directions.
• 11 coarsely chop spinach, add to the pot& give it a stir.
• 12 drain well.
• 13 assembly: arrange half of the pasta mixture in a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish.
• 14 spoon red sauce over top; sprinkle with artichoke hearts.
• 15 top with remainder of pasta mixture.
• 16 spoon sauce over top; sprinkle with cheese.
• 17 bake in preheated 375f oven until bubbly& golden, about 25 minutes.
• 18 let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
• 19 if made in advance& frozen, thaw in refrigerator& add 10 minutes to cooking time.