Rigatoni With Pizza Accents Food

RIGATONI WITH PIZZA ACCENTS

Steps:

• Cook rigatoni pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, fry sausage until cooked through but not brown. Add chopped onions and minced garlic. Stir and cook until soft. Add sliced mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes. Add chopped green pepper and cook slowly until soft. Drain off any excess fat.
• Stir in tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, fresh basil and pepperoni. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add cooked rigatoni noodles. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been cooked off.

PIZZA RIGATONI

Steps:

• In a skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink; drain. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. , In a 5-qt. slow cooker, layer half of the sausage, pasta, cheese, soup, onion, pizza sauce, pepperoni and olives. Repeat layers. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.

RICOTTA-STUFFED RIGATONI PIE WITH MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• For the meat sauce: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat, a large pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring and breaking up the meat into smaller pieces, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, oregano, red pepper flakes and garlic and cook, stirring, until the tomato paste darkens to a brick red, about 1 minute. Add the tomato puree, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a high simmer, then adjust to a low simmer. Cover the pan and cook for 30 minutes. (You can make and cool the sauce the day before. Reheat before using the next day.)
• For the pasta: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon oil. Cook the pasta until slightly less than al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and toss with the remaining tablespoon oil, then spread out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Spread 1/4 cup of the meat sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan. Stand the rigatoni on their ends in the pan until it is completely filled.
• For the ricotta filling: Stir together the ricotta, Parmesan, egg, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag, snip off just enough of the tip to make a small opening and pipe into each rigatoni tube. Pipe small mounds of any leftover ricotta mixture on top of the pasta and spread out into a thin layer. (You can cook and fill the pasta the day before.)
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the filled springform pan on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch drips. Pour 2 cups of the meat sauce over the pasta, spreading it with the back of a spoon so that it drips in between the noodles. Top with the mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Cover the pan with foil, doming it slightly to avoid touching the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover the pan and continue cooking until the top is golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes more. Let the pasta cool for 45 minutes (do not skip this part or your noodles will fall apart when serving!). Sprinkle with parsley, if using, then carefully remove the sides of the pan. Cut the pie into wedges and serve with the reserved meat sauce on the side.

RIGATONI PIZZA PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until tender but still underdone, about 3-4 minutes less than recommended time on the package. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Let cool slightly, then toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 cup parmesan. Set aside.
• Tightly pack pasta into springform pan, standing each piece on end. Spread meat sauce on top of pasta, pushing sauce into pasta holes.
• Top with mozzarella and pepperoni and transfer to oven.
• Bake 20-25 minutes, until pepperoni becomes browned in places and pasta on the edges of pan turn deeply golden and crisp.
• Remove from oven and top with remaining 2 tablespoons parmesan.
• Let rest 10 minutes, run knife around edge of pan to loosen, and unmold. Slice into wedges and serve warm.