Making pasta "al forno," or from the oven, is part of the magic of this baked, cheesy and meaty offering from Calabria, a region in southern Italy. In Calabrese (an Italian dialect) this dish is known as pasta "china" (keen-a), which means "full" or "stuffed." And with a plethora of rich ingredients including eggs, soppressata (a variety of cured Italian salami), fried meatballs, gravy and a mix of cheeses; we can see why. Not to mention, of course, the pasta; in this case, the iconic ridged and tube-shaped rigatoni.

One of the advantages of this baked pasta is that it can be prepared early and cooked later, which means less time spent in the kitchen and more time with dinner guests. And while the ingredients here are classic Italian offerings, you can experiment with infinite variations – more veggie-forward, for example – or as a means to clear out the fridge. 

We like to use fried meatballs, but if you're craving a lighter alternative, you can also bake them in the oven for 30 minutes at 180°C. The stringy provola cheese (available online or in many specialist stores) brings all the flavours together, and the final touch, a sprinkling of Parmesan, creates the characteristic crunchy crust on top as it cooks.