Sausage Pepper Rigatoni

You’ll need olive oil, salt and pepper, a dash of red wine or 1/4 cup water and a large frying pan for this.

While the water for the pasta is coming to a boil, chop the peppers and onion and dice the garlic and brown your sausage.

Over medium high heat, give your pan a good coating of the olive oil and when it’s hot, add your peppers, sprinkle them with a pinch of salt and pepper and saute them for about 10 minutes or until they start to soften.

Add the onion and saute until they start to turn clear.

Add the garlic and stir until it becomes fragrant, about 30 seconds. At this point, you can deglaze your pan with a little red wine or the water.

Add the mushrooms and bay leaf.

Add your pasta to the water and cook al dente.

Cut your sausage on the diagonal into pieces about 1/2 inch thick and add to the pan. Pour tomatoes over all, turn heat down and let simmer while the pasta finishes cooking.

When the pasta is done, turn the heat off your sausage mixture, drain the pasta (don’t rinse) and add it to the pan, then toss with the cheese. Let it sit for a few minutes so the cheese melts.

Serve with warm crusty bread, salad and a nice red wine.

Slainte!