Reheat pasta casserole or similar

Hi!

I’m new with the APO. We decided to get this one instead of a microwave as we have more possibilities to use the APO.

Actually I’m struggling with reheating lasagne or pasta casserole as the noodles are becoming very soft and have no structure at all. Is there a way to reheat this kind of meals in the APO? There is no option to separate the noodles from the meal and cook fresh ones… We had a microwave, but I can’t remember if the structure of the pasta have been changed after reheating, but guess no.

A possibility would be in a pan with high heat and sear it.

Any ideas?

Many thanks in advance!

brasax

Hi Brasax, you made a wise and safer decision choosing the APO over a microwave oven.

And yes, successfully reheating pasta can be tricky, but it can be done.
Why is pasta so challenging?
It’s because the flour used to make pasta has a high affinity for water. After baking it wants to keep absorbing all it can from the sauce resulting in the continuing softening of the pasta. Heat is not required.

Basically, with pasta freshly cooked will always be best.

As i understand you, you want to reheat a previously cooked and then refrigerated lasagna or pasta casserole.

Start with a high quality 100% Durum, or hard wheat, pasta. De Cecco pasta from Italy is my preferred brand. It retains its structure far better than the ordinary grocery store products.

The last thing you want to do is reheat pasta with high heat and searing. And don’t attempt to reheat a frozen item either.

Reheat pasta in a foil-covered casserole in your APO at 270F with 30% steam and convection. Insert the oven’s probe through the foil into the centre of the casserole. Push the probe to the bottom of the casserole and then withdraw it at least half an inch. You want to monitor the temperature of the food, not the dish. Continue baking to an internal temperature of 175F.

This cook uses individual 16 oz, ramekins or casseroles for reheating baked pasta because they chill and reheat faster than larger quantities. Each one is a portion and they require about 45 minutes. And i think they have a better appearance than a mound of pasta and sauce on your plate.

If you are reheating a large pasta casserole for a family use the same temperature.

Do well and stay safe.

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Hi chatnoir,

thanks for the info! We use also De Cecco, they are great.

I will try it out and let you know! But 45 min is quite long. We had a microwave in the past, used it only for reheating, but as we moved to another place, we left the microwave behind.

Using the probe is a great idea! Didn’t think about this for rehearing something!

Thanks again!

You’re welcome Brasax. Your oven’s temperature probe is a valuable tool because it eliminates guesswork and hope as factors in your cooking.

The method i shared with you is the result of extensive practical research in an academic healthcare facility. If you are willing to sacrifice some quality for a shorter heating time, go higher.
What’s the rush?

Many restaurants reheat casseroles at extremely high temperatures as their customers mostly care about food temperature as their measure of quality.

Microwave ovens are excellent for heating water. However, they can have an unfavourable impact on your foods at the molecular level. Stick with your Anova oven.

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