Sausage, Fennel, and Eggplant Rigatoni
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 2 medium eggplants, chopped (I used a beautiful striped eggplant variety from Spain but feel free to use regular purple eggplant if that's what your grocery store carries at this time of year)
  • Generous pinch of coarse salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ cup pancetta, diced
  • 1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
  • 1 large bulb fennel, diced
  • 1 large red onion, diced
  • Pinch of coarse salt
  • Ground black pepper to taste
  • 28 ounces San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
  • 1 pound rigatoni pasta
  • ½ grated pecorino romano cheese
  • 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
  • Basil leaves and fennel fronds for garnish
Instructions
  1. After chopping the eggplant, add it to a colander, along with a generous pinch of coarse salt, to drain for 30 minutes.
  2. Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the pancetta to the skillet and cook for 4 minutes or until brown and crispy, stirring occasionally. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook for about 7-8 minutes or until browned. Remove the sausage and pancetta with a slotted spoon. Set it aside in a medium bowl.
  3. Pour all but two tablespoons of the oil and fat out of the skillet. Then, add the diced fennel and onions to the skillet along with a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Add the chopped eggplant and cook for 5 minutes.
  4. Add the sausage and pancetta back to the skillet. Next, add the tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Simmer for at least 30 minutes over medium low heat, stirring occasionally and crushing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Feel free to simmer longer (60-90 minutes) - cooking it longer allows the flavors to deepen. However, 30 minutes suffices if you're pressed for time.
  5. While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta, taking it out of the boiling water one minute earlier than the suggested cooking time on the package. Drain the pasta and reserve ½ cup pasta water.
  6. Add the pasta and the pasta water to the sauce. Cook for an additional one minute, taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the pecorino cheese.
  7. Add the pasta dish to a large serving bowl and top with ricotta cheese, basil leaves and fennel fronds.
Recipe by Healthy Recipe Ecstasy at https://www.healthyrecipeecstasy.com/sausage-fennel-and-eggplant-rigatoni/