Baked Rigatoni With Sausage And Eggplant Pasta Stephy Recipes

EGGPLANT, TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season aggressively with salt. Add the rigatoni and cook 3 minutes less than the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and drain.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Toss the eggplant and tomatoes with 3 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread on the baking sheet and roast until the eggplant is golden brown and tomatoes are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. (Leave the oven on.)
• Toss the rigatoni with the eggplant, tomatoes, about 1/4 cup pasta water and the marinara sauce in a large bowl. If it looks dry, add the remaining pasta water. Stir in 1 cup mozzarella.
• Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Transfer the pasta to the baking dish and top with the remaining cup mozzarella and the Parmesan and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon olive oil. Bake until the cheese is melted and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. (Turn the broiler on at the end if you want the cheese to brown more.) Garnish with additional Parmesan and the chopped basil and serve.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the topping: Add the ricotta, basil, and salt to a small bowl. Stir together with a rubber spatula. Set aside.
• For the pasta: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Season well with salt and cook the rigatoni for 5 minutes. Drain well, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
• Meanwhile, heat a large braiser or ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and sausage to the pan. Cook, stirring often and breaking apart the meat with the back of a spoon, until beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the broccoli and garlic and cook to marry the flavors, about 3 minutes. Stir in the marinara and 1/4 teaspoon salt until fully combined. Add the pasta to the pan and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Toss well to coat. Add the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce slightly.
• Dollop the ricotta cheese mixture evenly over the top. Nestle the ricotta mixture into the pasta and cover with some of the pasta. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the pasta. Get yourself a 9 by 13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.
• Heat a 2 count of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and toss in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes, you want them nicely browned on the outside but still rare on the inside. Put the sausages in the baking dish.
• Turn the heat down to medium. Add a generous 1/3 cup of oil to the skillet and get it hot. Add as many eggplant pieces as you can comfortably fit in a single layer and sprinkle well with salt. Cook, turning, for 7 to 8 minutes, until the eggplant is nice and browned, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Use a spatula to put the eggplant into the baking dish with the sausage. Cook the rest of the eggplant pieces, adding more oil to the pan, as needed, and putting the finished eggplant into the baking dish.
• Add another 2 count of oil to the skillet, then your onion and garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent. Dump the whole can of tomatoes and their juices into a bowl and crush the tomatoes with your hands to break them up; add that to the pan with the basil and cook it down until pulpy and relatively thick. This will take about 15 minutes.
• By this time your pasta water will be boiling. Add the rigatoni, give it a stir, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, it should be slightly firm as it will cook further in the oven. Ladle out 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and reserve; the drain the rigatoni.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Chop the sausages into nice big, bite-size chunky pieces and return the pieces to the baking dish. Add the tomato sauce, rigatoni, and the reserved pasta water. Break up half the mozzarella over the mixture, season with salt and pepper, and gently mix with your hands or a spatula. Dust with the Parmigiano and drizzle with more olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Spread the remaining mozzarella in an even layer over the top and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

BAKED RIGATONI & SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Cook rigatoni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add spaghetti sauce and wine., Drain rigatoni; add to sausage mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Freeze option: Freeze individual portions of cooled pasta mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little spaghetti sauce if necessary.

BAKED RIGATONI AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage until brown on all sides.
• Remove from pan; slice into thin pieces.
• Return meat to pan; add onion and garlic.
• Cook until onion is tender; drain.
• Stir in hot pasta and ricotta cheese; blend well.
• Pour 1 cup spaghetti sauce on bottom of a 3-quart casserole dish.
• Spread one-third pasta mixture over sauce; cover with 1 cup spaghetti sauce.
• Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese over sauce.
• Repeat layers of pasta mixture, sauce, and cheeses twice, ending with Parmesan Cheese.
• Cover, bake at 400 degrees F.
• for 20 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the pasta.
• Oil a 9x13 pan with olive oil.
• Heat a 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the sausages and toss in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes, you want them nicely browned on the outside but still rare on the inside. Put the sausages in the baking dish.
• Turn the heat down to medium.
• Add 1/3 cup of oil to the skillet and get it hot. Add as many eggplant pieces as you can comfortably fit in a single layer and sprinkle well with salt. Cook, turning, for 7 to 8 minutes, until the eggplant is nice and browned, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Use a spatula to put the eggplant into the baking dish with the sausage. Cook the rest of the eggplant pieces, adding more oil to the pan, as needed, and putting the finished eggplant into the baking dish.
• Add another 3 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet, then the onion and garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent.
• Dump the whole can of tomatoes and their juices into a bowl and crush the tomatoes with your hands to break them up; add that to the pan with the basil and cook it down until pulpy and relatively thick. This will take about 15 minutes.
• Add the rigatoni to the boiling pasta water, give it a stir, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, it should be slightly firm as it will cook further in the oven. Ladle out 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and reserve; the drain the rigatoni.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F.
• Chop the sausages into nice big, bite-size chunky pieces and return the pieces to the baking dish. Add the tomato sauce, rigatoni, and the reserved pasta water.
• Break up half the mozzarella over the mixture, season with salt and pepper, and gently mix with your hands or a spatula until combined.
• Dust with the Parmigiano and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Spread the remaining mozzarella in an even layer over the top and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH SAUSAGE AND EGGPLANT (PASTA STEPHY)

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a large saute pan, heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Remove the casing from the 2 sausage links and break into bite-size pieces (sausage can be sweet or hot, whichever you prefer.) Drop into the pan and begin browning over medium to medium high heat. While sausage is browning, dice the eggplant into similar size pieces as the sausage (I do about a 3/4" dice). When sausage is about half-way cooked, add eggplant, mushrooms, and garlic, and stir through. You want to have a similar amount of eggplant and sausage, so if your eggplant is a little too big, you can dice less and save the rest for another dish. Or if you really freaking love eggplant, put it all in there.
• Add the dried rigatoni to the boiling water and cook 3 minutes short of package directions for al dente preparation. While pasta is cooking, saute the sausage and vegetables over medium to medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, until sausage is thoroughly cooked, testing vegetable doneness as you go. The mushrooms should be cooked through but still retain some bite, and the eggplant should be soft, but not mushy. When all is cooked through, add the jar of sauce to the mixture, stir through, and remove from heat.
• At this point, put the ricotta into a large bowl and add 1/4 C milk, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper, and crushed red pepper (if desired.) Stir through vigorously until milk and cheese are combined and the cheese has a creamy, loose consistency similar to that of yogurt or well-prepared grits. If the cheese still feels a bit thick, add another 1/4 C milk and repeat.
• After the pasta is cooked, drain well and dump noodles into a 13 x 9" Pyrex baking dish, lubed well with olive oil. Using a rubber spatula or plastic serving spoon, cover the pasta with the ricotta mixture and spread to the edges. Don't worry about having a consistent layer across, but try not to leave any large gaps that have no cheese. Sprinkle about 2 oz of the mozzarella and all of the parmigiana cheese over the ricotta. Then, add the contents of the saute pan : the sauce, sausage, mushrooms, garlic, and eggplant and spread this across the surface of the noodles and cheese, again, as evenly as possible. Top with the remaining 6 ounces of mozzarella and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes at 450 F until the mozzarella on top is fully melted and the sauce is bubbly. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.