Serves a Crowd

Baked Cavatelli

January 18, 2010
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0 Ratings
  • Serves a crowd
Author Notes

This is a favorite pasta potluck dish. It's rich, feeds a crowd and is simple to assemble. I usually have everything I need (except the sausage) in the fridge or my pantry. I developed it years ago and have tweaked it a bit over time. —Lizthechef

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 16 ounces cavatelli (wagon wheel pasta)
  • 12 ounces sweet Italian chicken sausage, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 tablespoon best quality olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
  • 4 peeled and chopped garlic cloves
  • 28 ounces can whole tomatoes, chopped (I like San Marzano)
  • 28 ounces tomato puree
  • handful of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (not in oil pack)
  • handful of flat-leafed parsley, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 splash dry red wine
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 ounces best qualilty Mozzarella, grated
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
  1. Cook pasta al dente - drain.
  2. Cook sauage until done - drain on paper towels.
  3. In a large dutch oven or large casserole dish (I use my biggest Le Creuset), heat olive oil and saute onion, peppers and garlic.
  4. Add cooked sauage, pasta, tomatoes, tomato puree, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs, s & p, wine and half the Mozzarella.
  5. Baked, covered, in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Uncover, add remaining Mozzarella, top with parmesan and cook for 10 additional minutes, uncovered.
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1 Review

Kelsey B. January 20, 2010
mmm, this is classic and sounds wonderful.