Penne & Italian Sausage Bake
"This is my adaptation of a recipe in a Liquor Control Board of Ontario magazine. I usually serve it with Caesar salad & garlic bread and its always been given "2 thumbs up" by my friends & family. You can increase the heat by using hot sausages & adding more cumin - or cayenne or red pepper flakes - according to your own taste!
Please note that the starch in the pasta cooking liquid will thicken the sauce when the casserole is baking!"
photo by um-um-good
- Ready In:
- 1hr
- Ingredients:
- 17
- Serves:
-
6
ingredients
- 453.59 g Italian sausage (hot or sweet)
- 29.57 ml olive oil
- 4.92 ml fennel seed
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1.23 ml cumin
- 1 red pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 green pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
- 700 ml jar tomato sauce
- 118.29 ml dry red wine
- 59.14 ml chopped basil
- 709.77 ml penne
- 118.29 ml of pasta cooking water
- 340.19 g mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 118.29 ml grated parmesan cheese
- 14.79 ml chopped parsley
directions
- Prick sausages in several places.
- Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan set over medium high heat.
- Add sausages& cook until evenly browned- about 8 minutes.
- Remove from pan& cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
- Add onions to fat remaining in pan& saute for about 5 minutes.
- Return sausages to pan.
- Add fennel, garlic, cumin, peppers& celery; cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Drain excess fat from pan.
- Stir tomato sauce, basil& wine into sausage mixture.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat& simmer for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook penne, according to package directions until el dente (about 10 minutes).
- Drain- reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
- Combine sausage mixture, pasta & reserved cooking liquid in a 5 litre casserole dish.
- Mix well.
- Combine Mozarella& Parmesan cheese and parsley.
- Stir into the pasta mixture.
- Bake in preheated 375F oven for 30 minutes.
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Reviews
-
I have made this many times and my co-workers eat it like it is their last meal. Easy to put together and the taste is great!! Taste even better if made the day before and popped in the oven to finish baking for a fast supper. -
A great tasting, colourful dish. I used canned tomatoes instead of tomato sauce so I didn't need to add any extra water but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. Loved the fennel and cumin, which are two things I would not normally add to pasta. For wine, I used a medium-bodied Chilean red. My one little quibble is that the pasta got a bit overcooked by the end (I'd boiled it for 9 minutes) so next time I'd try chopping a couple minutes off the boiling time to make sure it retains a firm texture. -
This is a very filling and very delicious casserole. It went together easily and I enjoyed the different way of cooking the whole sausage first and then cutting it into pieces. My standard way is to take off the skin, crumble it up and then saute it with the onions, garlic, etc. I think I like this way better. I followed the recipe to the letter, so I was surprised to find that the finished sauce was pretty thin. I stirred in half a can of tomato paste which helped. So, when combining all the ingredients, I did not add any pasta water. It's a good basic recipe to prepare ahead and have a hearty meal to serve to friends and family. My freezer is happily holding a pan of leftovers for another wonderful meal.
Tweaks
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A great tasting, colourful dish. I used canned tomatoes instead of tomato sauce so I didn't need to add any extra water but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. Loved the fennel and cumin, which are two things I would not normally add to pasta. For wine, I used a medium-bodied Chilean red. My one little quibble is that the pasta got a bit overcooked by the end (I'd boiled it for 9 minutes) so next time I'd try chopping a couple minutes off the boiling time to make sure it retains a firm texture.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
In the words of Tracy Byrd, "I'm from the country & I like it that way"!!
On May 1, 2008 my husband and I started a new adventure. We'll be living in a 37 foot RV while our new home is under construction. Its out in the country on a dead end dirt road with lots of trees. For the next 4 months or so, most meals will be cooked on the BBQ and life will be full of challenges!
We love spending quality time with our friends & family - especially the grandkids!! The photo is 4 generations - my 84 year old mother, myself, my daughter & my youngest granddaughter - taken at the end of 2006.
I've participated in many contests & events here on Zaar but this is the first banner that I've posted. My thanks to Dreamgoddess for hosting the contest & SusieD for the banner design!
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