Spaghetti al forno
Oven-baked spaghetti with creamy provolone and delicious Italian bacon—delicious!
Spaghetti al forno with authentic Italian Provolone and guanciale
You’ve never eaten spaghetti like this before: Even while this Italian spaghetti al forno with Italian Provolone and guanciale is baking in the oven, a simply heavenly aroma fills the air!
By the way: A large meat fork works best for rolling up the spaghetti nests. Since the pasta dish goes back into the hot oven with the sauce, the spaghetti should be cooked a little less than usual—extra al dente. You’ll love this new al forno recipe with its fruity sauce, creamy cheese, and the savory flavor of crispy-fried bacon.
Ingredients
500 g spaghetti
150 g pancetta or guanciale
150 g Provolone
¼ bunch of basil
80 g Pecorino
10 ml white wine (or a splash of lemon juice)
1 can of ORO di Parma organic chunky tomatoes with basil
olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Step 1 : The Preparation
This recipe for delicious Italian spaghetti al forno proves it: spaghetti can be this heavenly. First, you make a sauce with guanciale (guanciale is air-dried pork jowl), white wine (or a splash of lemon juice), and tomatoes. At the same time, cook the pasta until it’s al dente and preheat the oven. The stuffed spaghetti nests can then develop their full flavor in the oven. Just thinking about it makes your mouth water...
So let’s get started: Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add salt to the water as soon as it starts boiling.
Step 2 : Prepare the sauce
For the fruity and savory sauce, cut the Italian guanciale into bite-sized pieces. Heat a little olive oil in a skillet. Sauté the guanciale. Once it’s nice and crispy, turn down the heat. Now add white wine and let it reduce well. This takes a few minutes. Then add the tomatoes and let the sauce simmer for ten minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Tip
If you can't find Italian guanciale, you can use pancetta instead. At the end of the recipe, we explain the differences between guanciale and pancetta.
Step 3 : Cook the spaghetti
When the water is boiling vigorously, add the spaghetti. Important: Remove the spaghetti from the boiling water while it’s still al dente (firm to the bite)—about 2 minutes earlier than indicated on the package. This is because it will continue to simmer in the sauce in the oven—just like Spaghetti al forno.
Step 4 : Shaping the spaghetti nests
Place the cooked spaghetti in a large bowl. Mix the pasta and the tomato-guanciale sauce together well. Then twist the spaghetti into about six pasta nests—this works best with a meat fork. Arrange the delicious nests side by side in a shallow baking dish. Place a piece of Provolone (Provolone is a semi-hard to hard Italian cheese) in the center of each pasta nest. Then top with the sauce—along with a little grated Pecorino—and the fresh basil leaves. Now for the “al forno” part: Place the baking dish in the oven for about 15–20 minutes. Before long, the aroma of Italy will fill your kitchen!
Step 5 : The Finale
Once the cheese is lightly browned, your spaghetti al forno is ready. The best way to lift the spaghetti nests out of the dish is with a spoon and a fork. Be sure to place a wooden board under the dish! Drizzle a little more olive oil over the spaghetti, garnish with a few fresh basil leaves, and then it’s time to say: buon appetito!
