Baked Rigatoni With Eggplant and Sausage
"I got this recipe from the Food Network. It is Tyler Florence's. It was SO delicious and easy. Everyone loved it and it is a nice take-off on baked rigatoni/ziti. My kids loved it, too."
- Ready In:
- 50mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
8
ingredients
- kosher salt
- extra virgin olive oil
- 6 links Italian sausage
- 1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 28 ounces peeled whole tomatoes
- 1 bunch basil (small bunch)
- 1 lb rigatoni pasta
- 1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
directions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the pasta.
- Oil a 9x13 pan with olive oil.
- Heat a 3 Tbsp 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 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 3 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet, then the 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.
- Add the rigatoni to the boiling pasta water, 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°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 until combined.
- Dust with the Parmigiano and drizzle with 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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Reviews
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This is amazing! I recommend buying fresh basil for this because it adds so much flavor. Instead of sausage links, I used bulk sweet italian sausage. Thanks for sharing! I love finding a great recipe for eggplant. -
I will make it again and again!!! Delicious!!! I used already minced garlic, dried basil, and grated mozzarela chesse (I did not have the original ingredients at home). But it was delicious anyway. Thanks!
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This was SO good! My family ate it all! Thank you for sharing! LA :-) -
This was so good! I used good quality Italian sausage which really makes a difference. I didn't have fresh basil so put in a tablespoon of dried. One thing I would do differently next time is use my 11" x 15" lasagna pan as I didn't find a 9" x 13" pan big enough to hold that quantity of food. I had to mix up everything in my big bread mixing bowl and then put it back in the baking pan. Other than that, I would not hesitate to make this again.
Tweaks
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This is amazing! I recommend buying fresh basil for this because it adds so much flavor. Instead of sausage links, I used bulk sweet italian sausage. Thanks for sharing! I love finding a great recipe for eggplant.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I am a married mother of two. I have a wide variety of interests. I love wine, movies, music, dancing, going to the gym, shopping and reality TV. I have a great family and we love doing fun things together.
I really adore cooking for my family and friends. It makes me happy to make others happy through their taste buds.
