Rigatoni With Tomatoes And Mozzarella Recipes

RIGATONI WITH PEPPERONI AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain.
• Meanwhile, cook the pepperoni in a separate large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 10 minutes.
• Add 1 cup water, the tomatoes, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium low; simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, 10 minutes. Add the pasta and parmesan; toss to coat, adding the reserved cooking water as needed to loosen. Remove from the heat and stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; season with salt and pepper. Top each serving with a pinch of red pepper flakes, basil and more parmesan.

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.

RIGATONI WITH TOMATOES AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tomatoes, vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; set aside.
• In a small skillet, heat oil over low heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring often, until tender and just beginning to take on color, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in red-pepper flakes.
• Stir garlic mixture into reserved tomato mixture. Add parsley, oregano, mozzarella, and pasta; toss.

BAKED MOZZARELLA RIGATONI

Steps:

• Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare fresh Basil leaves by tearing or chopping them into dime-sized pieces and set aside.
• Cut about five slices of the fresh Mozzarella cheese and set aside.
• Cube the remaining Mozzarella cheese and set aside. I use about half of the cheese as cubes and about half as slices.
• Dice the tomatoes and set aside.
• Pour the Olive oil into your favorite skillet and apply medium heat.
• Fill a large pot with water, and apply high heat to boil the pasta.
• Lightly oil a 9 x 13 inch baking dish that is about 2 inches deep.
• Into a large bowl, combine the Marinara sauce, the diced tomatoes, the Basil, the Oregano, the red pepper flakes and the cubes of Mozzarella.
• Remove the casings from the sausages and brown in the skillet, breaking the sausages into clumps.
• Cook the Rigatoni in the boiling water until just tender. I like to add olive oil and salt to the water here, but you may cook your pasta how you like.
• After the pasta and sausage are cooked, add both to the large bowl and thoroughly, but gently, combine.
• Once everything has been mixed, pour the contents of the bowl into the baking dish.
• Place the slices of Mozzarella on top of the mixture. I like to cut the slices into smaller slices so I get a nice even distribution of Mozzarella on the top of the mixture.
• Place in the pre-heated oven, on the middle rack, and bake for about 20 minutes.

RIGATONI AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients except rigatoni and cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
• Cook and drain rigatoni as directed on package. Immediately toss rigatoni and tomato mixture. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. Sprinkle with cheese.

RIGATONI WITH SWEET TOMATOES, EGGPLANT AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Remove both ends of the eggplant and slice it into ½ inch slices, then slice these across and finely dice into ½ inch cubes. Some people prefer to season their eggplant with salt and let it sit for a while in a colander to draw out the bitterness, but I don't really do this unless I'm dealing with a seedy, bitter eggplant. This dish is really best made using a firm silky one.
• Now put a large saucepan on the heat and drizzle in 4 to 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. When it's hot, add the cubes of eggplant, and as soon as they hit the pan, stir them around with a spoon so they are delicately coated with the oil and not soaked on one side only. Cook for about 7 or 8 minutes on a medium heat. Then add the garlic and onion. When they have a little color, add the canned tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Stir around and season carefully with salt and pepper. At this point, if you wanted to give the dish a little heat you could add some chopped fresh or crumbled dried chilli, but that's up to you. Add the basil stalks, and simmer the sauce nice and gently for around 15 minutes, then add the cream.
• While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta. Cook according to the package instructions until it is soft but still holding its shape, then drain it, saving a little of the cooking water. I like to put the pasta back into the pot it was cooked in with a tiny bit of the cooking water and a drizzle of olive oil and move it around so it becomes almost dressed with the water and oil.
• At this point add the lovely tomato sauce to the pasta. By now the eggplant will have cooked into a creamy tomatoey pulp, which is just yum yum yum! (Jamie's words) Season carefully to taste with salt and pepper. Take the pan to the table, tear up the mozzarella and the fresh basil, and fold these in nicely for 30 seconds. Then very quickly serve into bowls. By the time your guests start to eat, the mozzarella will have started to melt and will be stringy and gorgeous and really milky-tasting. Just lovely with the tomatoes and eggplant. Serve at the table with a block of Parmesan cheese and a grater so that everyone can help themselves.