Pasta has ancient origins and grew in popularity in Italy in the 13th century. Its affordability, shelf life, and versatility firmly rooted it to Italian culture. Oven baked pasta dishes are also popular throughout Italy, with regional specialties favoring vegetables or meat. A wide variety of traditional Italian recipes migrated to American along with immigrants. When casseroles dishes and in-home ovens became widely available in America in the late 1800s, one dish meals became standard. This three-cheese dish is hearty and worth the time to prepare.
Recipe Servings: 8
Prep Time
10 minutes
+ 20 minutes resting
+ 20 minutes resting
Cook Time
1 hour 33 minutes
Total Time
2 hours 3 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 lb hot or sweet Italian fennel sausage, casings removed
- 1 can (28 oz) tomato puree
- 1½ cups water
- 1½ tsp sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ tsp ground fennel
- Salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 lb penne
- 3 cups creamy ricotta
- ½ lb fresh mozzarella, cut into ½ inch cubes
- ¼ cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, freshly grated
Directions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan set over medium high heat.
- Add garlic and cook about 1 minute, until lightly browned.
- Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat, for about 8 minutes or until browned.
- Add tomato puree, water, sugar, bay leaf, fennel, salt, and black pepper.
- Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer about 30 minutes until thickened.
- Remove garlic, mash it into a paste, and stir it back into sauce. Remove and discard bay leaf.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- While sauce cooks, bring pot of salted water to a boil, and add penne.
- Cook 9–11 minutes, drain, and return pasta to pot.
- Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, cooked sausage, and 1 cup of the tomato sauce.
- Spread the pasta evenly into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and pour the remaining tomato sauce over it.
- Drop large spoonfuls of ricotta on top of the sauce and gently fold some into the pasta, careful to keep some globs of ricotta and not overmix.
- Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over the top.
- Bake pasta for about 45 minutes or until bubbling and golden.
- Let rest 20 minutes before serving.
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