Wednesday, March 18, 2009

What’s Cooking Wednesday – Pasta Rustica with Chicken Sausage and Three Cheeses

For more WCW recipes check out Shan's Place.



This the perfect thing to make on a chilly night. It tastes even better the next day. I found this recipe in a Williams-Sonoma catalog. Usually I'm not a fan of chicken or turkey sausage but this recipe is full of flavor.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 lb. chicken or turkey sausage, casings removed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper chile flakes
1 can (28 oz.) tomatoes in puree, tomatoes coarsely chopped and puree reserved
Salt to taste
1 lb. penne pasta
1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded fontina or mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

In a large dutch oven/heavy sauce pan over medium heat, warm oil. And onion and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add sausage and cook, breaking it up into bite-sized pieces, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes.

Stir in basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Add tomatoes with puree and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer stirring occasionally, until thickened, 10-12 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Preheat over to 350F. Lightly oil a baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt water, cook pasta until barely al dente. Drain.

In a large bowl, toss pasta with sauce, ricotta and fontina. Spread in the baking dish and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake until cheeses are melted and tips of pasta are crusty, about 30 minutes.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot. Serves 6-8.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks great! I love pasta al forno. Btw, thanks for telling me where the mozzarella bar is. I think I've seen it but have never eaten there. I did have an aperitivo at the bar on the top floor of La Rinascente. What a view of the Duomo!

Anonymous said...

I actually quite enjoy turkey or chicken sausage and I use it in my vodka sauce. Love love love pasta al forno but I've never used ricotta. I'll try that next time.

Anonymous said...

What do you have against turkey and chicken sausage? It has lots of flavor!!

I make this dish every few months. Its my favorite recipie in this book.

Gibber

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

milanese - You're welcome. You're right that view is amazing.

joanne - I do like turkey burgers but prefer pork sausage to turkey or chicken.

gibber - In this dish the chicken and turkey sausage work well but I find when I substitute turkey/chicken sausage for pork...not so tasty.

Unknown said...

Looks wonderful.

Anonymous said...

That looks delicious! I just like sausage. period. :-)

Unknown said...

Looks too good. I just love those Williams-Sonoma catalog recipes.

Eleonora Baldwin said...

Mmm, very interesting combo: chicken sausage, ricotta and Fontina...will attempt soon.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

It is a delicious dish.

I don't miss all the junk mail I used to receive but those William and Sonoma Catalogs were fantastic.

glamah16 said...

Chicken or turkey sausage can be blan or incredible depending on th sessoning. This looks like a good one.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

glamah16 - I agree. It's the blandness I'm not a fan of.