CHEF JEFF — ONE BYTE AT A TIME: Stuffed Rigatoni

There’s more to tuna than sandwiches and casseroles as this recipe shows.

Stuffed Rigatoni

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

¾ pound rigatoni

8 ounces ricotta cheese (1 cup, pushed through a sieve)

1 7-ounce can tuna, drained

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups (about 5 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

Coat 13-by-9-by-2 baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add rigatoni; boil until half-cooked. Drain, transfer rigatoni to large bowl cold water. Blend ricotta, tuna in food processor until soft, smooth. In medium bowl, mix cream, Parmesan; season with salt, pepper; set aside. Fill pastry bag with ¼-inch-wide conical nozzle; fill rigatoni. Arrange in rows in baking dish. Pour cream mixture over stuffed rigatoni; refrigerate at least 3 hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove rigatoni from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered until brown, bubbling on top. Serve hot with parsley sprinkled on top.

Yield: Serves 6.

Grab more food tidbits at the Chef Jeff blog at GrandForksHerald.com.

Tags: chef jeff, jeff tiedeman, one byte at a time, accent, updates, food, recipes