Baked Rigatoni with Sausage Recipe

Penne with Sausage Ragu Recipe

Our Baked Rigatoni with Sausage recipe is an easy recipe to make. This is a good hearty midweek pasta dish that combines broccoli, cheese, pasta sauce and Italian sausage.

This recipe is property of GreatChefRecipes.com

Ingredients:
Topping
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Pasta
1 lb. rigatoni pasta
1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 25oz. jar marinara sauce
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, basil and salt and set aside.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the rigatoni for 10-minutes.
4. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and drain the pasta.
5. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat.
6. Once the oil shimmers, add Italian sausage and brown (around 7-minutes).
7. Add the broccoli and garlic and cook for 3-minutes.
8. Stir in marinara and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
9. Add cooked pasta and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.
10. Toss to coat, and add the pasta water to slightly thin the sauce.
11. Add ricotta cheese mixture and layer evenly over the pasta.
12. Sprinkle mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over the top.
13. Bake for 20-minutes, the cheese should bubble and slightly brown.
14. Allow the pasta to rest for 5-minutes before serving.

Wine Pairings:
We preface all of our wine pairing suggestions by letting you know that it’s really a matter of personal taste. While we do offer our opinions and why we selected a specific varietal, there is no right or wrong answer when pairing a wine with your dinner.

Sangiovese
Our Baked Rigatoni with Sausage recipe isn’t heavily sauced and it would pair well with a nice light fruity red wine. I think a Sangiovese is the perfect accompaniment for this recipe. Sangiovese wines have dry cherry flavors that wouldn’t overwhelm the flavors from this dish. Follow the link to our wine review site to find our favorite Sangiovese wines-LetsHaveWine.com

Have you tried this recipe? If so, leave us your comments below!