BAKED MOZZARELLA RIGATONI

Baked Mozzarella Rigatoni image

Provided by AreThree

Categories Pork

Time 50m

Yield 6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 12

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 mild Italian sausage, casings removed
3 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
12 ounces rigatoni pasta
2 1/2 cups marinara sauce (use your favorite)
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaf, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
16 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Steps:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare fresh Basil leaves by tearing or chopping them into dime-sized pieces and set aside.
Cut about five slices of the fresh Mozzarella cheese and set aside.
Cube the remaining Mozzarella cheese and set aside. I use about half of the cheese as cubes and about half as slices.
Dice the tomatoes and set aside.
Pour the Olive oil into your favorite skillet and apply medium heat.
Fill a large pot with water, and apply high heat to boil the pasta.
Lightly oil a 9 x 13 inch baking dish that is about 2 inches deep.
Into a large bowl, combine the Marinara sauce, the diced tomatoes, the Basil, the Oregano, the red pepper flakes and the cubes of Mozzarella.
Remove the casings from the sausages and brown in the skillet, breaking the sausages into clumps.
Cook the Rigatoni in the boiling water until just tender. I like to add olive oil and salt to the water here, but you may cook your pasta how you like.
After the pasta and sausage are cooked, add both to the large bowl and thoroughly, but gently, combine.
Once everything has been mixed, pour the contents of the bowl into the baking dish.
Place the slices of Mozzarella on top of the mixture. I like to cut the slices into smaller slices so I get a nice even distribution of Mozzarella on the top of the mixture.
Place in the pre-heated oven, on the middle rack, and bake for about 20 minutes.