Thursday, June 25, 2009

Pasta Al Forno

This is one of Ken's everyone needs to try.

1 lb Italian sausage (optional)
1 onion coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
2 mushrooms finely chopped
3-5 cloves garlic minced
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
1 pt heavy cream
1 lb rigatoni pasta
mozzarella cheese
fresh or dried basil or other herbs

Brown sausage. Remove sausage, leaving pan drippings. (add some olive oil if you choose not to use sausage). Add carrots, celery, and mushrooms to pan and "sweat" cook for several minutes until tender. Add onion and garlic and saute for several minutes.

Add can of tomatoes, with salt, pepper, and basil to taste. Add sausage back in. Simmer about 20 min.

Cook pasta al dente. In large baking dish, put a tiny bit of sauce on bottom. Layer pasta, cream, cheese, then sauce. Add more cheese on top. Cover and bake 45 minutes at 350. Uncover and bake until cheese is bubbly. Add Parmesan at table.

ps...I like to add more veggies because it helps the sauce to stretch a bit further. I do more carrots and celery, but any kind of veggies would be yummy. Enjoy!!