Note: This recipe has had multiple iterations as I played with the original. I am not sure where the idea came from, but enjoy. Even though we usually cook for two, this dish will feed about six.
12 ounces of your favorite pasta; bow-tie tastes great and looks good
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ lb. Italian sausage
(we use the ground sweet Italian sausage; if you like it hot, go with the spicier variety. If ground Italian sausage is not available, you can use link sausage by taking the casing off the sausage prior to cooking)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 fresh basil leaves
1 stem fresh oregano
1 fern fresh dill
2-3 tablespoons parsley
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
6 cups marinara (homemade or store-bought marinara)
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated (one cup for the pasta mix and one for topping; if you like cheese, add more)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (¼ cup for the pasta mix and ¼ cup for the topping)
4-5 slices fresh mozzarella
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Pasta
- Cook pasta according to directions on box
- When pasta is al dente, drain and mix with olive oil in mixing bowl or in the pan in which you cooked the pasta
Rest of dish
- Sauté onion
- Add sausage and garlic; brown sausage and drain
- After draining, remove from heat and add bell pepper and herbs
- Mix sausage mixture with the pasta.
- Add about 5 cups of marinara sauce, 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and mix with pasta.
- Pour into a 9×13 lightly greased dish (cooking spray works fine)
- Top with the rest of the shredded cheese.
- Pour remainder of marinara sauce over mix
- Place slices of fresh mozzarella over the top of the dish.
- Bake 35-40 minutes or until the cheese is brown and the dish bubbly.
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