Baked Rigatoni with Sausage, Mushrooms and Spinach

So many baked pasta dishes can turn out overly soggy or too dry only because the proportion of various ingredients doesn’t always work out the way we hoped.  This recipe is by far the best baked pasta dish and the KEY is the unique sauciness.  The TWIST is in the 2 sauces that make this dish better than the rest.   A lot of steps but totally worth the elegant outcome! By the way, don’t calorie-count on this one.  It’s rich as it should be.

 

Plan to use 2.5 qt Corning ware if you have one or a 9 by 13 inch pan- feeds 4-5 people.  I like using a deep pan so lots of room for the sauce to move around.

 

There are 4 steps to preparing this dish. You will make 2 sauces, sauté the veggies and cook the pasta all before assembling.

 

Sauté 3 Italian sausages in a bit of olive oil, out of the casing until crumbly and cooked

Sauté 2 packages of sliced mushrooms until golden brown, use a bit of butter and oil (any kind works)

Use 1 package of frozen spinach, thaw and drain water as much as you can. I usually push down on a sieve with the back of a spoon. No need to cook this

 

Cook the rigatoni al dente and set aside.  Actually any nice “airy” pasta works.  The sauce needs place to go...

 

Make a luscious cheesy béchamel sauce...actually a Mornay sauce if you want to be fancy.  The KEY is to use equal parts of everything.  So, in a medium size pot...

Melt 2 tbsp of butter until bubbling and almost golden

Add 2 heaping tbsp of white flour and stir until it combines. Will be dry-ish

Add 2 cups of warmed milk and stir with a whisk until you bring it to a soft boil, it should be silky and thickened

Turn off the heat and add 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese and 1 cup of another strong cheese, ex: strong cheddar or gruyere until melted. Set aside.

 

Make a simple tomato and garlic sauce by using just a ½ can of diced tomatoes. Saute 3 minced cloves of garlic in olive oil. Add a few chili flakes. Then add tomatoes and any herbs you like...oregano and/or thyme work best to my taste.  Crush down the sauce with a potato masher for the right consistency. That’s it.  It doesn’t need to cook any longer.

 

Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, assemble all the ingredients except the tomato sauce. Then pour the mixture into the cooking dish.  With a big spoon, drop mounds of tomato sauce on top of the pasta and don’t mix. Then, cover the top of the pasta with grated Gouda and mozzarella cheese.  More Gouda than mozz...gives a great flavour.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until it all bubbles and is browned nicely on top.  This dish is so fabulous paired with a nice “big” red wine.  You’ll need it after washing all those pots and pans!