This is my adaptation of a recipe in a Liquor Control Board of Ontario magazine. I usually serve it with Caesar salad & garlic bread and its always been given "2 thumbs up" by my friends & family. You can increase the heat by using hot sausages & adding more cumin - or cayenne or red pepper flakes - according to your own taste! Please note that the starch in the pasta cooking liquid will thicken the sauce when the casserole is baking!

Ingredients

6 serv.

Italian sausage↗1 lb
(hot or sweet)
olive oil↗1⁄8 cup
fennel seed1 teaspoon
medium onion, chopped↗1
garlic clove, minced↗1
cumin↗1⁄4 teaspoon
red pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces↗1
green pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces↗1
stalk celery, coarsely chopped↗1
tomato sauce↗1 jar
(700 ml)
dry red wine↗1⁄2 cup
chopped basil1⁄4 cup
penne↗3 cups
pasta cooking water1⁄2 cup
mozzarella cheese↗3⁄4 lb
cut into 1/2 inch cubes
cup grated parmesan cheese1⁄2
tablespoon chopped parsley1

Step-by-step instructions

1
Prick sausages in several places.
2
Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan set over medium high heat.
3
Add sausages& cook until evenly browned- about 8 minutes.
4
Remove from pan& cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
5
Add onions to fat remaining in pan& saute for about 5 minutes.
6
Return sausages to pan.
7
Add fennel, garlic, cumin, peppers& celery; cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
8
Drain excess fat from pan.
9
Stir tomato sauce, basil& wine into sausage mixture.
10
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat& simmer for 15 minutes.
11
Meanwhile, cook penne, according to package directions until el dente (about 10 minutes).
12
Drain- reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
13
Combine sausage mixture, pasta & reserved cooking liquid in a 5 litre casserole dish.
14
Mix well.
15
Combine Mozarella& Parmesan cheese and parsley.
16
Stir into the pasta mixture.
17
Bake in preheated 375F oven for 30 minutes.

Source: food.com

Original recipe ↗

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