Rigatoni With Eggplant And Sausage Food

TOMATO, EGGPLANT AND SAUSAGE PASTA

Steps:

• In a medium/large bowl add the cubed eggplant toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt, leave for about 20-30 minutes, drain any excess liquid but do not rinse before adding to the pan.
• In a large frying pan on low to medium heat, add the olive oil, the eggplant, chopped sausage, fresh tomatoes*, spices, and water, stir and continue to cook on low to medium heat, (stirring often, so the mixture does not burn) until sausage, tomatoes & eggplant are cooked (we like the tomatoes slightly dried). Toss with 3 -4 cups cooked pasta and 1/2 a ladle of pasta water, cook on high heat for about 45-60 seconds stirring constantly. Top with fresh chopped basil leaves and freshly grated parmesan cheese, serve immediately. Enjoy!

SAUSAGE AND EGGPLANT FUSILLI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta for about 8 minutes, or 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.
• Meanwhile, toss the eggplant with 1 tablespoon salt in a colander; allow to sit for 5 minutes. Rinse with cold water, then squeeze out the excess moisture. Dry well on a paper towel-lined tray.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large straight-sided pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through and beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Push the sausage off to one side, add the eggplant and cook without stirring for about 3 minutes. Stir together the eggplant and sausage and continue to cook, stirring often, until the eggplant is soft and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the shallots and garlic; cook for another 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the reserved pasta water, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the tomatoes and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring often and breaking up the tomatoes.
• Add the pasta to the sauce and sprinkle the Parmesan and provolone on the bare pasta. Using two wooden spoons, toss to combine until the cheese is melted and the sauce is creamy and coats the pasta.

CHEESY EGGPLANT AND RIGATONI BAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook rigatoni according to package instructions but keep it slightly more al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking water, then drain and rinse pasta under cold water, and transfer to a large bowl while you cook the eggplant.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium. Add half the eggplant, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until golden brown on all sides, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the rigatoni. Repeat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and remaining eggplant and transfer to the bowl.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in red-pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and their juices, crushing the tomatoes with your hands as you add them. Cook until the tomatoes are very soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved pasta cooking water, adding up to 1 1/2 cups as needed to create a silky sauce.
• If the skillet is large enough, add the rigatoni and eggplant mixture, Parmesan, 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup basil and toss to coat. Otherwise, add the tomato sauce, Parmesan, 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup basil to the large bowl with the rigatoni and eggplant, toss to coat and then return to the skillet or transfer to a greased baking dish.
• Top with remaining 3 cups mozzarella and bake until the sauce is bubbling on the sides and the cheese is melted, about 25 minutes. Top with grated ricotta salata and torn fresh basil to serve.

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.

RIGATONI WITH ITALIAN EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook. Continue stirring until softened, about 3 more minutes.
• Add tomatoes, with liquid, breaking them up with the back of spoon. Stir in wine, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
• Bring large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook pasta until al dente; drain. Toss pasta with sauce in pan over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Serve on a large platter and top with grated Romano cheese.

RIGATONI WITH SPICY CHICKEN SAUSAGE, ASPARAGUS, EGGPLANT, AND ROASTED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Position a rack in the oven 6 inches below the broiler and preheat the broiler.
• Put the peppers on a baking sheet and put it under the broiler. Roast, turning the peppers with tongs a quarter turn every couple of minutes, until charred on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let the peppers steam for 10 minutes to loosen the skins.
• Using a paper towel, rub the charred skins off the peppers. Carefully remove the cores, stems, and seeds, and slice the pieces lengthwise into thin strips. Reserve any liquid the peppers release.
• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Add the asparagus and cook for 1 minute; drain and rinse under cold water. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a plate with a slotted spoon.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Cook the pasta until al dente according to the package instructions. Drain and return the pasta to the warm pot.
• Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet, add the eggplant, season with salt and pepper, and cook until brown and just tender, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the roasted peppers with any reserved liquid, asparagus, sausage, and vinegar and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes more.
• Transfer the sausage mixture to the warm rigatoni and add the Parmesan, parsley, and remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and stir to combine.
• Taste the pasta and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer to a large bowl and serve immediately.

RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT PUREE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl combine the eggplant, cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and red
• pepper flakes. Spread the vegetables out in an even layer on the baking sheet. Roast in the oven until the vegetables are tender and the eggplant is golden, about 35 minutes.
• While the vegetables are roasting, place the pine nuts in a small baking dish. Place in the oven on the rack below the vegetables. Roast until golden, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta into a large bowl and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid.
• Transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor. Add the torn mint leaves and extra-virgin olive oil. Puree the vegetables.
• Transfer the pureed vegetables to the bowl with the pasta and add the Parmesan. Stir to combine, adding the pasta cooking liquid 1/2 cup at a time until the pasta is saucy. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the top and serve.

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.