Recipe

Baked Rigatoni With Eggplant And Sausage Recipe

	Mamalou / All my dishes 1 year, 4 months ago Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! It makes a LOT, but I am sure that you won't have any problem getting rid of the leftovers!! Note, I did not use all the OIL that the recipe called for. Just used enough to keep the eggplant from sticking to the pan.... More Prep:20m Cook:30m Servings:8	Mamalou
	garlicky italian pasta cheesy

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Ingredients

Kosher Salt

Extra-virgin olive oil

6 links fennel pork sausage (about 3/4 pound)

1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large can (28 ounces) peeled whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano

Leaves from 1 small bunch basil

1 pound rigatoni

1 pound fresh mozzarella

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the pasta. Get yourself a 9 by 13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.

Heat a 2 count 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 a generous 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 2 count of oil to the skillet, then your 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.

By this time your pasta water will be boiling. Add the rigatoni, 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 degrees 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. Dust with the Parmigiano and drizzle with more 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.

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