Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta curls (recommended: campagnelle by
- Barilla; short fusilli or cavatappi twists may be
- substituted)
- Salt
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup sliced pepperoni, cut into thin strips
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
- 1 green or red bell pepper, seeded, quartered and
- thinly sliced
- 1 onion, quartered then thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 12 crimini mushrooms (baby portabellos), thinly sliced
- Black pepper
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 3/4 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- Loaf of crusty bread
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat broiler.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, add pasta and salt the
water.
While the pasta boils, combine ricotta, Parmigiano,
parsley and pepperoni in a large bowl and reserve.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat with
extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. When the
oil is hot, add the peppers, onions, garlic and
mushrooms. Saute 6-8 minutes until tender and
mushrooms are dark. Season the vegetables with salt
and pepper. Stir in tomatoes and reduce heat to low.
Add a ladle of starchy cooking water to the ricotta
just before you drain the pasta. Drain pasta then
toss with ricotta and pepperoni mixture. Pour pasta
into a baking dish and top evenly with peppers, onion
and mushroom sauce. Top with a layer of mozzarella,
oregano and red pepper flakes. Place under hot
broiler and melt cheese until golden and bubbly.
Remove and serve with crusty bread.