.png)
Sausage, Mushroom & Eggplant Pasta Al Forno is just one of those perfect comfort food dishes. the combination of sausage, mushroom and eggplant are so good together and just add so much flavour to this dish. One of my favourite parts about this dish are all the crispy edges and bits of pasta Mmmm
SAUSAGE, MUSHROOM & EGGPLANT PASTA AL FORNO
Recipe by Mark Calaminici | Food Loves Company
Serves 4
Ingredients
½ sweet onion, finely chopped
250g cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
1 medium sized eggplant, cut into small chunks
2 hot sausages, casings removed and crumbled into small pieces
150g provolone, cut into small cubes or shredded
250g smoked scamorza or smoked mozzarella, cut into cubes or shredded
200g Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly cracked pepper
700ml passata, strained tomatoes
Method
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat extra virgin olive oil. Add onion, mushrooms, eggplant and cook down until eggplant is soft. Add sausage and sauté for a minute or two to brown. Add passata and simmer for 20-30 minutes on low-medium heat.
3. Cook the rigatoni in a large pot of boiling salted water until halfway cooked, drain and save ¼ cup of pasta water.
4. In that same big pasta pot that now has the drained pasta add the sauce mixture with a handful of the cheese and mix to incorporate everything.
6. In a casserole dish, put a layer of sauce on the bottom, then add pasta to cover the bottom. Add some of the cheese (save some of the Parmigiano-Reggiano for the top layer) and repeat the steps until you fill the oven dish with pasta and cheese. Finish with Parmigiano-Reggiano and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until nice and golden brown. You can place under the broiler for a couple minutes if you like it to get more crispy. Everyone loves those crispy edges and bits. Enjoy!
Until next time, ciao!