This creamy and cheesy baked rigatoni always turns out better, and it's easier to make than any lasagna i've cooked. The secret ingredients are mascarpone and, surprisingly, cottage cheese (instead of ricotta). The idea of using cottage cheese came from my mom, who use to make lasagna with cottage cheese because she couldn't find good ricotta. Although high-quality ricotta is easier to find these days, cottage cheese is still perfect for this baked pasta. The result is a creamy, moist, cheesy and really flavorful dish. This baked rigatoni recipe also calls for fontina, instead of the typical mozzarella. Fontina tends to have more flavor, especially the high-quality fontina d'aosta sold in cheese shops, and is a little less gooey and stringy than mozzarella.
