Baked Ziti With Sweet And Hot Italian Sausages

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 lb pasta (mostaccioli recommended)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lb sweet italian sausage
• 1 lb hot italian sausage
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups tomato sauce (homemade or store bought)
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Recipe

• 1 in stockpot, cook the pasta in salted boiling water until it just begins to soften; do not cook completely. it will finish cooking when it bakes in the oven. drain the pasta and set aside.
• 2 in a large saucepan, heat the olive oil; add sausages. if desired, the sausage casings can be removed, but is not required.
• 3 cook the sausages until they are evenly browned.
• 4 remove the sausage from the pan and slice them thinly.
• 5 add garlic to pan and cook over medium heat just until the garlic begins to become golden brown in color.
• 6 add tomato sauce to the pan, as well as the sliced sausage, mushrooms, wine and fresh herbs; mix well and bring to a simmer.
• 7 cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 8 preheat oven to 350°f.
• 9 in a 13x9-inch greased baking dish, alternate layers of the half-cooked pasta, the tomato sauce-sausage mixture, and ricotta cheese until all the ingredients are used.
• 10 sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese over the top of the dish.
• 11 bake for 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the top is golden brown.
• 12 remove the baking dish from the oven.
• 13 allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.