Baked Ziti

By Cookie67

William Sonoma Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 tsp plus 1 tbs olive oil
• 3/4 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 can (28 oz)crushed plum tomatoes with juices
• 5 oz ziti, cooked until al dente
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 cup rinsed chopped Kalamata olives
• 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preparation

Step 1

Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 400 degrees. In 10" nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 tsp oil. Brown sausage 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Discard all but 1 tbsp fat in pan. Set pan over medium-high heat; warm 2 tsp oil. Cook eggplant 6 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Set pan over medium heat; warm 1 tsp oil. Cook onion 5-6 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Add wine, increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Cook 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and juices, simmer 10 minutes.

Add saugage, pasta, basil, olives, 2 cups mozzarella and tomato sauce to bowl with eggplant; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to fry pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano over pasta. Cover; bake 25 minutes. Uncover; broil at 500 for 5 minutes.