Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Peperonata

Sausage and peppers meet penne a la vodka in a cheesy baked pasta form, there’s no way this dish could be anything but delicious. It has all the makings of a hearty, comforting meal — a creamy tomato sauce, melted cheese, browned sausage bits, and sweet peppers but still light enough to make when the weather starts to warm up.

There are two things that make this dish particularly good. One is the fennel that gets sautéed in all that tasty sausage fat. Fennel and Italian sausage are so simpatico (chances are, the sausage is already seasoned with some fennel seeds). As it cooks down, the fennel gets tender and mellow, with just a tinge of anise-y flavor.

The second ingredient of note is the peperonata — bright bell peppers cooked down in red wine vinegar and sugar until they’re soft and sweet. The agrodolce (Italian for sweet and sour) at play here is a lesson in balancing flavors with acidity and sugar. You’ve got the punchiness of the vinegar and the tang of the tomato sauce, working with the natural sweetness of the peppers bumped up by a bit of sugar. The agro and the dolce complement and balance one another, resulting in a flavorful homerun.

Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Peperonata

Sausage and peppers meet penne a la vodka in a cheesy baked pasta form, this dish is a surefire crowd-pleaser.

Serves: 8

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

• 1 pound rigatoni
• sea salt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus extra for baking dish
• ¾ pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed, crumbled 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium fennel bulb, stalks removed, bulb cut into ½-inch dice
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 red pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
• 1 yellow pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
• 1 orange pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 cup good quality tomato sauce
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• 2 cups grated Italian Fontina cheese
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a 13 x 9 baking dish.
2. Heat a large pot of generously salted water over high heat. When the water comes to a boil, add the rigatoni and cook until still a bit firm with a bit of a bite, 7–8 minutes. The pasta will not be cooked through, as it will finish cooking in the oven. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.
3. In a medium sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the crumbled sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 3–4 minutes. Add the fennel and cook, stirring, until tender, 4–5 minutes more. Remove the sausage and fennel from the pan and add to the bowl with the pasta.
4. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, along with the peppers and a pinch each of salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the peppers are tender with a bit of a bite, 3–4 minutes. Add the sugar and vinegar and continue cooking until the vinegar has reduced to a syrup, 1–2 minutes more. Add the tomato sauce and cream to the pan and cook, stirring, until lightly thickened, 4–5 minutes more. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the pasta, add the Fontina, and stir well.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and top with the grated Parmesan. Bake until the top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling around the sides of the pan, 10 to 15 minutes.