Sausage Pasta al Forno

📝 Ingredients

• 500 g dried short pasta (penne or rigatoni)
• 400 g Toulouse sausage (4 sausages, about 100 g each)
• 1 brown onion (about 150 g)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes (800 g)
• 1 tbsp tomato purée (20 g)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 250 g ricotta
• 1 ball of mozzarella (125 g drained)
• 40 g grated Parmesan (20 g in the pasta, 20 g on top)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large stockpot
• Large sauté pan
• Baking dish of about 30 × 22 cm
• Colander
• Wooden spoon
• Kitchen knife

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (190 °C fan) and bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Slit the sausage skins along their whole length and remove the meat. Peel and chop the onion and garlic.
2. Heat the sauté pan over a medium-high heat without any fat and add the sausage meat. Break it up with the wooden spoon and brown it for 6 to 8 minutes, until there is no pink left.
3. Tilt the sauté pan and spoon off the fat released by the sausage, keeping just 1 tbsp in the bottom: the dish is lighter without losing any flavour. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat until soft.
4. Add the garlic and tomato purée, stir for 1 minute, then pour in the chopped tomatoes and add the oregano. Season with pepper and only a little salt, as the sausage is already salty. Simmer for 15 minutes over a low heat, uncovered, until the sauce thickens.
5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta for 3 minutes less than the time stated on the packet: it will finish cooking in the sauce in the oven. Drain in the colander and return to the pot.
6. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix, then add 20 g Parmesan and the ricotta in small spoonfuls, barely stirring so you keep white streaks. Transfer to the baking dish and level the surface.
7. Drain the mozzarella, pat it dry with kitchen paper and tear it into small pieces. Scatter it over the top, sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan and bake for 20 minutes, until the top is golden and the edges are bubbling.
8. Leave to rest for 5 minutes out of the oven: the pasta absorbs a little of the sauce and the bake holds together better when served. Serve with a large spoon, straight from the dish.