Imqarrun il-forn

Ingredients

Pasta

• 600 gmacaroni or penne
• water, for boiling
• salt

Meat sauce

• 500 gminced beef
• 300 gminced pork
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 tablespoonstomato paste
• 400 gchopped tomatoes
• 150 mlred wine
• 3 tablespoonsolive oil
• 2bay leaves
• 1 teaspoondried mixed herbs
• 1/2 teaspoonground nutmeg
• salt and black pepper

To bind

• 4eggs, beaten
• 150 ggrated hard cheese
• 100 mlmilk or cream

To top

• 100 ggrated cheese
• 2 tablespoonsbreadcrumbs

Directions

1. Take it off several minutes early. Both are eaten hot, warm and cold. Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy pan. Add the chopped onions to the pan. Cook them for a good ten minutes. They should soften and turn golden. Add the crushed garlic to them. Cook it for a good two minutes. Add the minced meat to the pan. Break it up with a wooden spoon.
2. Turn the heat up and let it brown. Do not stir it constantly at first. Let it sit and colour on the base. Mince that is stirred constantly steams. Let it sit long enough to catch colour. Give it a good ten minutes in total. Stir the tomato paste into the pan. Fry it for a good three minutes. That takes the raw edge off it.
3. Pour in all of the red wine now. Let it bubble hard for two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan. Add the bay leaves and dried herbs. Add the ground nutmeg to the pan. Season it with salt and black pepper. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Simmering it takes genuinely real time. Cover it partly and simmer slowly. Give it at least forty-five minutes. Stir it every ten minutes or so.
4. Add a splash of water if it goes dry. It should be thick rather than watery. Oil should sit at the surface. Cook it uncovered to reduce if it is loose. Take the sauce right off the heat. Let it cool for about ten minutes. Letting it cool first prevents that.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook it for three minutes less than the packet says. It should still be firm and slightly chalky inside. Drain the pasta very thoroughly. Do not rinse it under cold water. Tip the drained pasta into a very large bowl. Add the cooled meat sauce to it.
6. Stir it through the pasta thoroughly. Every piece should be well coated. Beat the eggs with the milk and cheese. Pour that mixture over the pasta. Stir it through quickly and thoroughly. Work fast so the egg does not sit. Season it again and then taste it. Oil a deep baking tin thoroughly.
7. Tip the whole mixture into it. Press it down firmly and evenly. Scatter the remaining cheese over the top. Scatter the breadcrumbs over that. Baking it takes about an hour. Heat the oven to 180C before baking. Bake it for about fifty minutes.
8. Cover it with foil if it browns too fast. Judging when it is done takes a look. Take it out and let it stand awhile. Give it at least twenty minutes. Cut it into large squares with a sharp knife. Lift them out with a fish slice. Serving it is done warm or cold.

Technique

• Beaten egg stirred through before baking sets in the oven and binds the pasta and sauce into a block firm enough to cut into squares and hold in the hand; without egg it stays loose and sloppy.
• The pasta must come out of the water three minutes early and still be chalky inside, since it finishes cooking in the oven and absorbs liquid from the sauce; fully cooked pasta turns to mush.
• Let the sauce cool before the egg goes in, since beaten egg added to a boiling sauce scrambles into visible yellow specks, and rest the finished bake at least twenty minutes, because cutting it hot gives a collapsing mess.

Substitutions

• Minced beef alone works in place of the beef and pork mixture, though it is drier.
• Any short pasta shape works, with macaroni and penne both traditional.

Variations

• Ross il-forn is the same idea made with rice instead of pasta.
• Some households add hard boiled egg slices through the middle layer.
• It is eaten hot at Sunday lunch and cold on picnics alike.

History

The Maltese Sunday and feast-day bake, also carried to picnics because it holds its shape cold.

Frequently asked questions

What is Imqarrun il-forn?

Imqarrun il-forn is a main from Malta: baked macaroni in meat and tomato sauce, set firm and cut in squares. The Maltese Sunday and feast-day bake, also carried to picnics because it holds its shape cold.

How long does Imqarrun il-forn take to make?

Imqarrun il-forn takes 40 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 8. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Imqarrun il-forn?

Yes, within limits. Minced beef alone works in place of the beef and pork mixture, though it is drier. Any short pasta shape works, with macaroni and penne both traditional.

What is the most important thing to get right in Imqarrun il-forn?

Turn the heat up and let it brown. Do not stir it constantly at first. Let it sit and colour on the base. Mince that is stirred constantly steams. Let it sit long enough to catch colour. Give it a good ten minutes in total. Stir the tomato paste into the pan. Fry it for a good three minutes. That takes the raw edge off it.