Baked pasta dishes are one of my favorite cool weather comfort foods. All that melty cheese and rich tomato sauce simply makes my mouth water. But sometimes I crave something a little more extraordinary than your basic stuffed shells or lasagna. That’s what inspired this Chorizo Rigatoni ‘Cake” recipe. It’s a twist on an Italian-American classic — baked ziti.
Chorizo is a type of sausage from Spain. Pork is combined with red pepper, paprika and other spices. Here in the U.S., it usually comes in two varieties — dried and fresh. They can both add rich complexity to many dishes. We opted for the dried version to make our sauce. Then instead of just tossing the ingredients together to make a casserole, we stand the pasta shape upright in a springform pan to resemble a dessert. How fun is that? It couldn’t be any easier. Plus, it’ll definitely impress your guests. Give it a try then let us know what you think.
Yields
Total Time
Prep Time
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 1 lb. rigatoni pasta
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 dried chorizo sausages, (3½ oz.), chopped
- 1 red pepper, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 (24 oz.) jar marinara pasta sauce
- ½ tsp. dried oregano
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup torn fresh basil leaves + additional leaves
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
PrintHeat oven to 400°F. Coat 9"x3" springform pan with cooking spray. In large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta 5 min. Drain well, reserving ½ cup water. Toss pasta with Parmesan. Working in small batches, arrange pasta in pan, standing pieces upright.
Coat large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add chorizo; cook until rendered, 4–5 min. Add red pepper, onion, garlic and pepper flakes; cook until softened, about 5 min. Stir in sauce, oregano, salt and reserved pasta water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 min. Stir in torn basil.
Gently spoon sauce over pasta; tap pan gently on surface to allow sauce to fill holes and gaps between pasta. Top with mozzarella. Place on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly brown, 15–20 min. Let stand 10 min. Transfer to serving plate. Run knife between edge of pan and pasta; remove side of pan. Garnish with basil leaves.
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