Double Cheese Penne with Sausage and Hot Cherry Peppers

By Dottiejk

Ingredients

• kosher salt
• 3-1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 6 ounce dried penne or ziti
• 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage; casings removed
• 1 large clove garlic; minced
• 14 ounce whole peeled tomatoes
• 1-2 pickled Itallinan hot cherry pepper; cored, seeded, diced
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese; grated
• black pepper
• 4 cup low moisture mozzarella; shredded

Preparation

Step 1

dish with 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

Add the penne or ziti to the boiling water and cook until it's just tender
but still firm to the tooth, about 11 minutes. Drain the pasta well and
return it to cooking pot.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a large straightsided skillet
over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the sausage, let it sit for
a minute, and then start stirring and breaking it into bite size pieces
with the side of a lotted metal spoon. Cook until lightly browned, another
2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate using the slotted spoon.

Add the garlic to the pan, season with salt, and cook stirring constantly,
until it colors slightly, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and their
juices and cook at a rapid simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up
the tomatoes with the spoon for 5 minutes so the sauce thickens slightly.

Meanwhile, position an oven rack about 6 inches from the broiler element
and heat the broiler on high. stir the sausage and its juices, the diced
peppers, and two ounces of the parmesan into the sauce. Cook, stirring
until the sausage is cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste for salt and
pepper. Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta in the pot and stir well.
Spread the pasta and sauce evenly in the baking dish or gratin dishes.
Sprinkle with the mozzarella and the remaining parmesan. Put the baking
dish or gratin dishes on a baking sheet and broil until the cheese melts
and browns in places, 2 to 4 minutes (check often to be sure they dont
burn). Serve immediately with more parmesan.