Everyone has their own little twists on bolognese sauce, but here’s a simple one for you!

These giant pasta shells, or Conchiglioni Rigati in Italian, look fantastic on the plate.

If you want to get creative and have a little time, undercook the shells slightly, drain, and then lay them in a single layer on a baking tray.

Next, fill each shell with sauce, grate over some Parmesan cheese, add a basil leaf to each, and bake in a 180°C oven until the cheese has melted and is golden.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1kg Beef mince
500g Lamb mince (or pork)
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots grated or finely chopped
4 stalks of celery grated or finely chopped
1 zucchini grated
2 onions finely chopped or grated
8-10 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 bottles passata
3 tins chopped tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 cup stock
Basil leaves
1 pack large pasta shells
Parmesan cheese, to serve
More basil leaves to garnish

Method

Heat a deep frypan over medium heat.

Add olive oil and mince and season with salt and pepper.

Cook until the mince has browned, breaking it up as you go.

Add garlic, carrot, onion, celery and zucchini. Continue cooking, stirring every couple of minutes, until all the liquid has cooked away.

Once the mince has a nice dark brown colour, add the tomato paste and cook, stirring for about a minute.

Add the passata, tin tomatoes, bay leaves and stock and stir to combine.

Taste for salt and pepper and add a handful of fresh basil.

Cook for about an hour over low heat.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Toss pasta through the bolognese sauce, grate over Parmesan cheese, and serve with a few basil leaves.

These tasty, silky little dumplings are called Pelmeni, a traditional Russian dumpling with tender chicken.

This month we’re celebrating high-quality ready-made meals that we can get on the table quickly for those busy weeknight dinners when you just don’t want to think about what you’ll cook when you get home.

“Sam’s Pelmeni and Pierogi are the most traditional Eastern European, Russian and Polish dumplings available in Australia, often referred to as pasta pockets or pastry pockets.”

We’ve simmered these all-natural dumplings in chicken stock to create a delicious and healthy soup, and served them with dollops of sour cream and fennel fronds.

Keep a bag in your freezer and dinner will never be more than 10 minutes away!

Take the stress out of cooking with 400 Gradi’s Ricotta & Spinach Cannelloni Pasta Bake!

All it needs is 20 minutes in the oven for a perfectly tasty dinner.

While you wait, throw together your favourite salad, then sit back and relax knowing you’ve made a dinner that will satisfy everyone in your household.

Grate a little extra Parmesan cheese over the top if you love a cheesy pasta!

Eggplant Parmigiana fans have we got a treat for you for this week’s Monday Meal!

You’ll find Aston Lucas Gourmet ready-made eggplant parmigiana in our fridge, along with a great range of high quality pasta dishes.

This parmigiana is rich, satisfying, and the perfect comfort food on these chilly Melbourne winter days!

This delicious vegetarian dish has crumbed and shallow fried eggplant layered with their families secret Napoli sauce made from Victorian Roma tomatoes, market fresh vegetables, herbs, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

It’s made from 99% Australian grown produce and is an Australian owned business.

Aston Lucas are committed to quality ingredients and sustainable farming.

Available in single serves and family serves!

There are three layers to a true pasticcio — pasta tossed in feta, meat sauce, and béchamel.

To make life easier, I’ve combined the pasta and meat sauce.

If you want to go the extra mile, lay the pasta neatly in the base of the dish so that you have a wall of rigatoni holes when you cut it.

You can also add a couple of hundred ml of white wine before you add the tin tomatoes.

Ingredients

500g Rigatoni pasta

Meat Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled & diced
6 cloves garlic, crushed
500g beef mince
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano

Cheesy Béchamel Sauce
1 lt milk
2 bay leaves
6 peppercorns
1 clove garlic, peeled
60g butter
60g plain flour
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Kefalograviera cheese
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Method for Meat Sauce

Heat oil in a large frypan over medium heat.

Add onion, salt, and sauté for 2 mins. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant.

Add beef mince and cook, breaking it up as you cook, until it’s dark and flavourful.

Add tomato puree and cook, stirring for about 2 mins to cook off the rawness of the puree.

Add tin tomatoes, cinnamon and bay leaves. Cook over low heat for around 30 mins.

Method for Cheesy Béchamel Sauce

Place milk, bay, and garlic in a small saucepan and gently simmer.

Remove from the heat and discard garlic, peppercorns and bay.

Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat.

Add flour and cook, stirring continuously, for around 3 mins.

Slowly whisk the milk into the flour and butter. Cook for about 5 mins.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheeses, cayenne, and the salt and pepper until it’s smooth.

———

Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni as per pack directions in salted boiling water.

Drain and mix through the meat sauce.

Place pasta in a large deep baking dish and top with cheesy béchamel sauce.

Bake in 180 °C oven for 20 mins or until the top is golden.

For this week’s Monday Meal, we have a rigatoni dish that takes under 20 minutes to cook and there won’t be dozens of dishes to clean up afterwards!

Pasta is usually a winner in most houses, especially where kids are concerned.

The most time consuming part of this delicious dinner is defrosting the @eatitaliafood Napoli Sauce!

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pouch Eat Italia Napoli Sauce 380g package
Eat Italia Rigatoni Pasta
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese
Basil leaves

Method

Defrost the sauce, place in a pot, and heat over low heat until hot.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook rigatoni for 5 mins.

Drain and toss pasta in the sauce.

Season with pepper, and then top with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.

For this week’s Monday Meal we’re serving up country style gnocchi from Eat Italia.

We stock a wide range of Eat Italia pasta and sauces, along with filled pasta shapes, lasagnes and cannelloni.

Their gnocchi is made in Australia according to their family’s traditional recipe and is free from added preservatives.

The mushroom sauce is rich, creamy, and the perfect match for this pillowy potato dumpling.

Not only is this dish tasty, it’s quick and easy!

Ingredients

1 pouch Eat Italia Country Style Gnocchi
1 pouch Eat Italia Mushroom Sauce
Salt
Handful parsley, chopped

Method

Fill a large saucepan with water, add a tablespoon of salt, and bring to a rolling boil.

Defrost the mushroom sauce and heat it in the microwave or a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Add the gnocchi to the pot and cook until they float. Drain and divide between plates.

Top with sauce and parsley, and enjoy!