Rotelle, Baked with Sausage and Cheese
Coming up next in our pasta journey is, of course, the letter R, and admittedly this one did stump me a little as I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do. I could do ravioli, or something with radishes or radicchio. However, I think once again I just need to keep things simple and delicious, so a nice baked rotelle with sausage, peppers and cheese seems perfect.
Rotelle are also referred to as wagon wheels in the US because they are, quite literally, shaped like wagon wheels. It’s a very fun and arguably underrated pasta shape.
Serves 4
Salt
1 pound rotelle (wagon wheel shaped pasta)
Olive oil
1 pound ground sweet Italian sausage
1 small red onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp sliced fresh basil, plus more for topping
1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
1/2 cup shredded low moisture mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C, lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish, and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
While the pasta cooks, heat a frying pan with a thin layer of oil. Add the sausage and cook over medium heat, breaking up the sausage as you go, for about 6 minutes, or until the sausage is browned and is no longer pink in the middle. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
In the same pan with the reserved sausage drippings, add the onion, pepper and garlic, then cook for about 3 minutes, or until the onion starts to soften. Return the sausage to the pan and add the tomatoes. Bring that to a boil, then let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until thickened.
While the sauce simmers, add the pasta to the boiling water and let it cook for about 7-9 minutes, or until al dente, then drain. Stir the pasta, basil, and fontina into the sauce, then taste and season with salt and pepper.
Pour everything into the baking dish, then top with the mozzarella and Parmigiano. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until everything is bubbly, then switch on the broiler for about 2 minutes, or until the cheese is browned. Let it cool at least 5 minutes before serving.
