Santa Clara University

Baked Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage, Fresh Ricotta and Basil by Brendan Cotter

Brendan Cotter is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy and has worked in award winning restaurants in San Francisco and Chicago.  Originally from Michigan, Brendan grew up watching Julia Child on television with his Dad.  He moved to San Francisco more than a decade ago and discovered how blessed we are with ingredients in the Bay Area.  Currently Brendan is a Private Chef and is working on his first book tentatively titled “Learning to Cook:  Becoming the New American Chef.”  He spends most of his free time exploring farmers markets and discovering culinary treasures.  So if you enjoy good food, there is an excellent chance you’ll run into him.

Ingredients:

Tomato Sauce

• About 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 6-8 spicy Italian sausages, casings removed and cut into 1 inch balls
• 1 large onion, minced
• 4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon each fresh thyme, rosemary, oregano and sage, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 ½ cups dry white wine,    preferably Pino Grigio
• 3 ½ pounds    ripe tomatoes or 3 14 oz. cans of San Marzano tomatoes, puréed
• Sea salt, to taste

• 12-14 oz. rigatoni (preferably #24)
• 8-12 oz. fresh ricotta (preferably homemade)
• 12-14 oz. whole milk mozzarella, cut into 2 inch cubes
• Sea salt, to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
• Freshly grated highest quality Parmesan cheese, to taste
• Two handfuls purple or green    basil leaves

Directions:

For the Tomato Sauce:

1. In a large heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat add olive oil and quickly brown sausages.  It’s not necessary to cook them all the way through.
2. Remove sausage balls from pans and add onion, garlic and fresh herbs to pot.  Lower heat and cook until very soft    (about 5 to 10 minutes).
3. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1-2 minutes.  Deglaze with white wine and reduce roughly 50-80 percent.
4. Add puréed tomatoes and return sausage balls to pot and simmer sauce for approximately 1 hour.  Taste sauce and correct seasoning if needed.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6. In a large pot cook pasta 2-3    minutes under package instructions, about 90 percent until al dente.  Drain pasta and return to pot. 
7. Dress pasta with tomato sauce   (reserving about 25-50 percent) and a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, taste and correct seasoning.
8. In a large baking dish or roasting pan pour in a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Add half of the pasta to pan.
9. Drop spoonfuls of ricotta on top of first layer of pasta.  Then add remaining pasta to pan.   
10. Top with mozzarella, Parmesan, a few spoonfuls of reserved tomato sauce, cover with foil and bake for approximately 40-45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. 
11. Remove from oven, top with torn basil leaves and drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Serve any remaining tomato sauce on the side.