Perhaps every good memory I have involves food, even in the TV shows or movies I watch. Watching the people eat makes me hungry and want to recreate the experience at home. Meanwhile, hubby enjoys that because he gets to sample different dishes. I might be delayed than most, but tonight we are going to have a marathon to finish the hit Netflix K-Drama series — Vincenzo. And for the love of Vincenzo, we are having baked rigatoni for dinner tonight. Hope this passes the impeccable taste of the consigliere! haha

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For the Love of Vincenzo

Vincenzo is the name and title of the hit series top-billed by Korean heartthrob Song Joong-Ki who is making a comeback on the small screen.

Hubby and I are hooked to the show because aside from SJK’s charisma and dapper looks in his Booralro suits, his supporting cast is equally entertaining. We really enjoyed their quirky traits and their hidden talents! Moreover, the actors are really very effective in playing their parts.

Despite the brutality of the scenes, we couldn’t help but root for the anti-hero Vincenzo.

Aside from the show, one of the things that stuck to my mind is the seemingly Italian dish that I couldn’t identify. Vincenzo ate it twice in the restaurant with Lawyer Hong Cha-young (played by Jeon Yeo-Bin). It was something like a baked pasta dish with red sauce and topped with mozzarella and herbs. And they used their metal chopsticks to eat it.

It seemed so yummy but despite my research, I couldn’t find a reference to the name of the restaurant or the dish. But I just had to re-create it, at least based on my perception of the dish.

So, for the love of Vincenzo and to cap the last episode tonight, we had baked rigatoni for dinner. Here’s how I made it.

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Baked Rigatoni Recipe

Anyway, I am not quite sure if this pasta dish is similar to what Vincenzo and Hong Cha-young had in the show, but this will have to do tonight. Given the weather (strong rains), I have to make use of what I have in the pantry. Thankfully, I still have several kinds of pasta left, some sauces, and of course, cheeses.

• Read: Healthy Macaroni Soup Recipe

So we had baked rigatoni it is tonight, just for the love of Vincenzo and K-Drama in general. hehe The hubby and kids were just too happy.

Ingredients:

• 500 grams Ideal Rigatoni, cooked around 8 minutes only
• Cooking oil
• 1 carrot, cubed
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• A whole head of garlic, minced
• 250 grams ground pork
• 250 grams ground beef
• 2 Chinese chorizo, diced
• 1 kilo spaghetti sauce (I used the sweet Filipino-style)
• 2 Tbsps. tomato paste
• 2 Tbsps. butter
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano + 1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves

For the Cheese Sauce:

• 1 box all-purpose cream (250 ml)
• Fresh milk, about 1/2 cup
• 1/2 cup grated dark cheddar
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 2 egg yolks
• Salt and dried basil leaves
• 2 Tbsps. butter
• Pepper flakes, optional

Procedure:

• Do not overcook the pasta. Instead, remove it from heat about 8 minutes into cooking. Rinse with tap water and drain. Set aside.

• In a pan, heat oil and fry the carrots for a few minutes. Season with salt and a little pepper.

• Stir in the onions and garlic. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Add in the meats, season, and stir-fry until the oils come out.

• Move the meats to the side of the pan and fry the chorizo. Let it cook a bit and mix.

• Pour in the tomato sauce and paste. Add the butter and herbs and mix well. Taste it, adjust seasoning, and bring to a boil.

• Mix the cooked rigatoni into the sauce. Turn off the heat. Transfer the cooked pasta in a baking dish.

To Assemble and Bake

• Preheat oven to 180° C.

• In a saucepan, combine all the sauce ingredients and cook over low heat. You don’t really have to wait until the cheese melts. Remove from heat and pour over the top of the pasta.

• Bake the rigatoni for 20 minutes.

Note: For a really gooey and cheesy top, use all mozzarella cheese. If you don’t have an oven, that’s okay. Just cook the cheese sauce well and smother your pasta with it.

I know that Koreans like spicy food so I am betting that the pasta in the show was spicy. However, I could not make mine hot because of the kids. Instead, I sprinkled pepper flakes on mine and hubby’s. Oh my! The heat made perfect sense.

For the love of Vincenzo, buon appetito!