Pasta al Forno alla Pugliese

An Apulian and broader southern Italian Sunday tradition documented since at least the 17th century — the dish that anchored the family pranzo della domenica. Layering peasant ingredients into a single tray let one oven feed extended families. The hard-boiled egg layer comes from Eastern Easter customs that crossed the Adriatic via Albanian-Apulian (Arbëresh) communities.

Apulian and broader southern Sunday tradition documented since the 17th century — the dish that anchored pranzo della domenica. The hard-boiled egg layer comes from Eastern Easter customs that crossed the Adriatic via Albanian-Apulian (Arbëresh) communities. Pasta is undercooked by 3 minutes and finishes baking in the oven. Crust comes from caciocavallo, never mozzarella alone — mozzarella weeps water and goes leathery.

A baked pasta dish — usually rigatoni or penne — layered with tomato ragù, hard-boiled egg slices, tiny meatballs (polpettine), mozzarella, caciocavallo, and pecorino, baked until the top forms a brown crust and the cheese strings underneath. Cut in squares; the slice should reveal four or five visible strata. Sunday lunch food, never weeknight.

Pasta is undercooked by 3 minutes — it finishes baking in the oven absorbing the ragù. Fully cooked pasta turns to mush in the bake. The crust comes from caciocavallo on top, never mozzarella alone (mozzarella weeps water and goes leathery); caciocavallo's lower moisture browns into a true crust. Rest 15 minutes before cutting or the layers slide.