Bucatini, also known as perciatelli, are a thick spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center.
Baked pasta is a very common type of food in different styles in Mediterranean countries, especially in Greece, Italy, Turkey and Egypt. Bucatini, which is usually covered with béchamel sauce, is roasted with meat alternatives such as mushrooms and lentils, cooked in the oven, cut and served like lasagna.
In this recipe, you will find the vegan and gluten-free version of the baked pasta (Turkish Fırın Makarna), which is the version made in Turkey. In different countries such as Greece, mushrooms can also be cooked with tomatoes, mostly by layering in the form of Shepherd’s pie. Also known as Pastitsio. You can also see some versions with eggplants and mince in Egypt. And Italian version is more like creamy, cheesy with lots of cheese and herbs.
INGREDIENTS
300 g bucatini pasta, gluten-free or regular of your choice
For the mushroom filling
400 g mushrooms of your choice
3 tbsp ponzu (or tamari, soy sauce)
2 tbsp olive oil
5-6 garlic cloves minced
1 onion finely chopped
1 red bell pepper finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
For the bechamel
6-7 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp miso paste
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1000 ml oat milk
80 ml olive oil
100 g gluten-free flour mix ( or use 50 g tapioca + 50 g oat flour/buckwheat flour)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
INSTRUCTIONS
Mushrooms
1. To make mushrooms, dice your mushrooms quite finely, set aside.
2.Heat up olive oil in a pan. Once the oil starts shimmering, add chopped onion and sauté, on a low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes. 3.Add in the garlic and fry for a few more minutes until fragrant.
4.Then add the diced mushrooms and ponzu, cook until mushrooms are tender and slightly browned.
5.Once all the mushrooms are cooked, season them with thyme, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Béchamel
1.To make oat milk, place 1 cup gf rolled oats in the blender, add 1000 ml water. Blend well, strain the mixture and use in your bechamel.
2.Blend minced garlic cloves and miso paste together in a small bowl, dissolve in a little water.
3.Slowly heat up olive oil in a large saucepan. Once the oil starts to shimmer, gradually whisk in gf flour ( or tapioca + oat flour/buckwheat flour). Keep whisking until the mixture is silky smooth. Allow the mixture to bubble gently, whisking constantly, for a few minutes.
4.Then, reduce the heat to low and start adding in oat milk while whisking the whole time.If the mixture gets thicken quickly and look a bit lumpy, it will recover once all the milk has been whisked in.
5.Once the mixture looks stable whisk in nutritional yeast and allow it to melt into the sauce, then continue adding in the rest of oat milk, including the garlic and miso mixture. Simmer only just enough for the sauce to thicken then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 180° C.
2. Cook your pasta for 5-6 minutes , just half amount of regular cooking time. Then drain and set aside.
3. Transfer mushroom mixture to the béchamel sauce. Stir together.
4. Then transfer the pasta to the pot, and toss with béchamel and mushrooms.
5. Transfer your béchamel pasta in a large pyrex.
6. Bake for about 50 minutes, rotating the dish halfway through cooking to ensure it bakes evenly.
7. Allow the dish to set for at least an hour or else the slices will come out messy, it will get thicken as it sits in the fridge. You can reheat in the pan and eat the next day. It tastes even better!
