Italian Sausage Baked Pasta Food

BAKED PENNE WITH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F and move the rack to the top third of the oven.
• Boil a salted pot of water for the pasta. Cook it for 2 minutes less than the package directions indicate. Once it's done, drain it and set it aside.
• Crumble the sausage meat directly into a skillet, and add the onion in too. There should be enough fat released by the sausage to cook the onion, but if it's particularly lean, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sausage has browned (about 10 minutes). If there's a lot of excess fat, spoon most of it out.
• Stir in the garlic and cook for about a minute.
• Add in the marinara sauce and red pepper flakes and cook for a couple more minutes until it's warmed through.
• Add the drained pasta to a 9x13 baking dish and then pour the sausage mixture over top. I add in some salt & pepper as well. Toss until everything is coated. Smooth it out into an even layer.
• Top with the cheeses and bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Broil for a few minutes to brown the cheese (watch it carefully). Serve immediately.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a large pot with generously salted water, cook pasta according to instructions until al dente. Drain and transfer pasta back into the pot. Tip: Cook pasta until al dente (aka cooked until it's still a little bit firm when bitten) since it will continue cooking in the oven later.

BAKED PENNE WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Place sausage and onion in the skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain excess fat. Pour in wine, and cook for 1 minute, stirring, to deglaze the pan. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss with cooked pasta, and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle top with mozzarella.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

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.

MAKE AHEAD ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Cut sausage into 1/2 inch chunks. I large skillet, brown sausage over medium-high heat, in batches and adding oil if necessary. Transfer sausage to a bowl.
• Pour off any fat from pan. Add onions, garlic and red pepper, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in pasta sauce, tomato sauce, basil, oregano and fennel seeds; bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan. Return sausage and any accumulated juices to pan; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until sausage is firm throughout.
• Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta for 6 minutes, add spinach;cook for 1 minute. Drain well and return to pot. Add sausage mixture and provolone/mozzarella cheese; stir to combine well.
• Transfer to 2 greased 8-inch square baking dishes or 1 13x9-inch dish. Sprinkle with Asiago/parmesan cheese. Cover dish with greased foil, greased side down.
• To serve: Bake, covered with foil, in in 375 degree F. oven for 30 minutes or for 1 hour if from the refrigerator. This freezes beautifully (thaw in refrigerator before baking).

BROCCOLI AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE BAKED RIGATONI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
• Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon into small pieces, until browned and cooked through, about 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to a medium bowl, then reduce the heat to medium.
• Add 3 more tablespoons of the butter and the garlic to the same pot. Cook until the butter has melted and the garlic is softened slightly, about 1 minute. Whisk in the flour and cook until it's bubbling all over and no longer raw, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk, then bring to a steady simmer. Simmer until it has thickened slightly, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the mozzarella and fontina until smooth. Season with 1 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few good grinds of pepper. Keep warm over low heat.
• Meanwhile, season the pot of boiling water generously with salt (it should taste like the ocean). Add the pasta and cook until al dente, adding the broccoli florets during the last 4 minutes of cooking, about 8 minutes total.
• Use a spider to transfer the pasta and broccoli into the cheese sauce and stir until evenly coated. Stir in the sausage. Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the breadcrumbs and parsley then sprinkle evenly over the pasta. Top with the Parmesan. Bake until the sauce is bubbling around the sides and the breadcrumb topping is golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

BAKED ZITI WITH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the ziti according to the package directions for very al dente, about 7 minutes. (It will continue to cook in the oven so you want to undercook it just a bit.) Drain and add the pasta back to the pot. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F and set the oven rack in the middle position.
• Heat a large sauté pan (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage into the pan and cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned and just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked sausage to a plate. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan and set over low heat (if you don't have enough fat in the pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil). Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until soft but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, sugar and red pepper flakes and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
• Add the cream, ⅓ cup of the pecorino Romano, cooked sausage, and basil to the pan; stir until evenly combined. Carefully pour the contents of the sauté pan into the large pot with the pasta and gently stir to combine. Spoon half of the mixture into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the shredded mozzarella and half the remaining pecorino Romano. Spoon the remaining pasta mixture on top and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and pecorino Romano. Transfer to the oven and bake, uncovered, until the cheese has melted and browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with more basil and serve.
• Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The dish can be assembled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days in advance, or frozen for up to 3 months. (If frozen, defrost in the refrigerator overnight.) Whether refrigerated or frozen and defrosted, bake, covered tightly with aluminum foil, in a 425°F oven for 25 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is lightly browned and the pasta is hot throughout.

SAUSAGE PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and reserve.
• In a large skillet, heat oil and sausage; cook through until no longer pink. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, add onion and garlic to skillet. Add broth, basil and tomatoes with liquid.
• Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes to slightly reduce. Add chopped spinach; cover skillet and simmer on reduced heat until spinach is tender.
• Add pasta to skillet and mix together. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.