Monday: Sausage & Pasta Bake

The weather is miserable here right now and I wanted something hot and tomatoe-y and meaty and so I came up with this elegantly named dish. I was hoping for a good warm week but it looks like more rain for the next three bloody days. ANYway, here is what I whipped up.

You will need:

2 c whole wheat shaped pasta, like fusili, or penne or macaroni
2 tsp olive oil
4 Italian sausages, I have the type without casings
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped finely
1 large green pepper, chopped finely
1 large red pepper, chopped finely
2 Tbsp red wine
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp Oregano, divided
2 tsp dried basil, divided
1 tsp chili flakes
Salt, pepper
4 oz mozzarella, in chunks, not shredded
1.5 oz Parmesan cheese, NOT that powdery stuff
4-5 leaves fresh basil

First, boil your pasta, drain and set aside; preheat your oven to 350. Chop all your veggies (you can also do this while the sausages are browning, but then you might have to wait and hey, let's just do them now. Please? It soothes me).

Heat the olive oil in a large-ish heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook the sausages, turning so that they brown on all sides. I am using a mild sausage, so I am adding my teaspoon of chili flakes right now so that the sausages are nice and spicy. If you are using spicy sausages, that may be overkill, unless you are into that sort of thing. No judgement here, only love.

Once they are somewhat browned, about 5 minutes, remove and set aside.Make sure at some point you poke them with something sharp. Those chubbies are hiding a lot of flavour inside. That sounds wrong.

Add in your chopped peppers and onion, stirring occasionally and cooking for 4-5 minutes, until starting to soften. Add in your garlic and cook for one minute. Just ONE!

Slice your sausages and thinly as possible and add back into the pan. Turn the heat up to medium high.

Deglaze your pan with the red wine and scrap the bottom with your flat-edge wooden spoon. Or reasonable facsimile.

When the wine is almost gone, add in the tomato paste and a teaspoon each of the dried basil and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. 

Cook, stirring, for two minutes or until it starts to stick to the pan. Add in your tomatoes, the rest of the dried basil and oregano and bring to a boil. Taste and add salt and pepper as required. If you got a little crazy with the chili flakes earlier, you can add a teaspoon of sugar or so to help bring that down.

Lower the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes, covered, stirring every now and again. Remove the lid and cook for another 5. Lay your drained pasta at the bottom of a large oven-proof casserole dish with a lid. Dump the tomato mixture on top, then stir in the mozzarella chunks and Parmesan cheese.

Cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, removing the lid for the last 10. Slice your fresh basil leaves into ribbons, stir in just before serving.

I separated this into 5 portions at 400 calories per, which is not bad, considering it includes all four food groups. I was going to add a small salad but decided the peppers would probably see me through. And so they did.

The money shot, as it were

Enjoy!!