Recipe: Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage and Crispy Mushrooms (from The Chopped Cookbook)

RIGATONI WITH SPICY SAUSAGE AND CRISPY MUSHROOMS

"Roasting mushrooms concentrates their flavor adding deep savoriness to this dish. Starting with packaged sliced mushrooms saves you precious minutes of prep time. Get these right in the oven as soon as you get in the door."



Kosher salt
1 pound button mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided use
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus 1 small sprig
Freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces spicy or sweet Italian sausage (about 4 links), casings removed 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
1 pound uncooked rigatoni
Grated Gruyere, Parmesan, or pecorino, for serving

SET UP:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

ROAST THE MUSHROOMS:
Toss the mushrooms with 3 tablespoons of the oil, the chopped rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt, and a couple turns of pepper. Lay on a baking sheet in one layer and roast, stirring occasionally, until mostly dry and crisp in places, 40 to 50 minutes.

SIMMER THE SAUCE:
While the mushrooms get crispy, heat the remaining tablespoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and garlic and cook, breaking up the clumps with a wooden spoon, until brown, about 6 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes with their juices, the rosemary sprig, and 1 cup water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

COOK THE PASTA AND TOSS:
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl and toss with the sausage sauce. Discard the rosemary.

Serve topped with the mushrooms and grated cheese

Makes 4-6 servings
Recipe copyright 2014, Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Source: The Chopped Cookbook by Food Network Kitchens