The Easy Way Giada De Laurentiis Gives Baked Rigatoni Extra-Cheesy Bites

Ricotta can often be a source of controversy within Italian-American cooking, with battle lines firmly drawn between those who shun or love its distinctive texture or engage in perpetual debate over whether it belongs in a lasagna. Yet if anyone can convince ricotta's naysayers, it is chef, author, and Food Network star Giada de Laurentiis, who loves the creamy whey cheese so much, she even incorporates it into chocolate puddings. If you're looking for an entree instead of a dessert, however, Giada's baked rigatoni and sausage recipe illustrates how well ricotta works in concert with other Italian cheeses.

Featured on Food Network's "Giada Entertains", de Laurentiis begins by browning cut-up Italian sweet sausage before adding roughly chopped broccoli. After feeding these base ingredients with a little smashed garlic, she adds store-bought marinara and ladles in al dente rigatoni, allowing the pasta to finish cooking in the sauce itself, along with a little of the pasta water, which facilitates the cooking of the broccoli.

De Laurentiis quickly moves on to the trio of cheeses that bring the whole dish together. Generously grating her beloved Parmigiano over the pasta as it continues to cook, de Laurentiis then scoops dollops of ricotta mixed with freshly chopped basil at key points around the pasta. "Take some of the pasta and just cover it up," Giada says, "because the ricotta will melt slightly, but it won't melt like a mozzarella. That's why I like it inside, instead of on top." Finally, a pleasing, golden crust is achieved by sprinkling shredded mozzarella over the pasta before it goes into a 400 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 20 minutes, taking advantage of the distinct ways these three cheeses will melt and complement each other.

Stealthily incorporating ricotta is far from de Laurentiis' only effective cheese hack when it comes to pasta. If you've ever grated a fragrant, heaping mound of Parmesan onto your freshly made spaghetti or penne, only to find that the cheese is unevenly distributed once you go in fork-first, leaving no two mouthfuls the same, de Laurentiis has you covered. She suggests adding grated cheese directly to the noodles before adding sauce, which is just one of Giada's many pasta tips, and makes for a supremely melty pasta dish, and is something she learned from her nonno (grandfather).

Sometimes with cheesy pasta, one must go big or go home, so if you love it as much as Giada, you may be tempted by her supremely indulgent recipe for farmer's pasta. As demonstrated on her show "Everyday Italian", this dish features a luxuriant béchamel sauce boosted with garlic, fresh herbs, and crispy pancetta, before four great piles of fontina, provolone, mozzarella, and Parmesan are stirred in, combined with rigatoni, and topped with seasoned breadcrumbs before being baked. After trying the luscious result, you may find it hard to ever go back to boxed mac 'n' cheese.