Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Pasta Al Forno aka Sweet Heaven


1 lb. sausage (optional)
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
2 mushrooms finely chopped
3-5 cloves garlic minced
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
1 pint heavy whipping cream (or canned milk)
1 lb. Rigatoni pasta
mozzarella cheese
fresh or dried Basil

Brown sausage. Remove sausage, leaving pan dippings. (Add some olive oil if you choose not to use sausage). Add carrots, celery, and mushrooms to pan and "sweat" (cook for several minutes until tender). Add onion and garlic and saute for several minutes.

Add can of tomatoes, with salt, pepper, and basil to taste. Simmer about 20-30 minutes.

Cook pasta al dente. In large baking dish, put a tiny bit of sauce on bottom. Layer 1/3 pasta, the 1/3 cream (if you're being healthy use canned milk), then 1/3 cheese, then 1/3 sauce twice. On the last layer, switch sauce and cheese so you end up with cheese on top. Cover and bake 45 minutes at 350. Uncover and bake til cheese is bubbly. Add Parmesan at table.

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