RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT AND SAUSAGE

RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT AND SAUSAGE image

Number Of Ingredients 12

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

Steps:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for 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 sausages and toss in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes, so they're nicely browned on the outside but still rare on the inside. Put sausages in baking dish. Turn heat down to medium. Add a generous 1/3 cup of oil to 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 eggplant is nice and browned, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Use a spatula to put eggplant into baking dish with sausage. Cook the rest of eggplant pieces, adding more oil to the pan, as needed, and putting finished eggplant into baking dish. Add another 2 count of oil to 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 tomatoes with your hands to break them up; add that to the pan with 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 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 pasta cooking water and reserve; drain the rigatoni. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Chop sausages into nice big, bite-size chunky pieces and return pieces to baking dish. Add tomato sauce, rigatoni, and 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 Parmigiano and drizzle with more olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Spread remaining mozzarella in an even layer over the top and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.