original source

australians make pasta bakes all the time, but theyre more of a bolognese with some cheese on top and tossed in the oven. swapping the beef mince out for italian sausage immediately elevates this, and the heavy cream the embroils you in a battle of dairy fat and pig fat and chilli and tomato which is incredible and will also make you feel like an absolute piece of shit if you eat too much. this recipe is incredible. i'm going to try swapping the cream out for ricotta some time and if it's good i'll update the recipe

_{theres unfortunately no way to photograph this without it looking like a car crash victim photo}

ingredients:

• 500g ziti noodles
• 750g ground spicy or sweet italian sausage (removed from casings)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (400g) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 teaspoons sugar
• 0.25 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons grated pecorino romano
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for serving
• 250g whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)

method:

1. bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. add the ziti noodles and cook according to the package directions for very al dente, about 7 minutes. (it will continue to cook in the oven, so you want to undercook it just a bit.) drain and add the pasta back to the pot. Set aside.
2. preheat the oven to 220°C and set the oven rack in the middle position.
3. heat a large saute pan (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat. crumble the sausage into the pan and cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned and just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked sausage to a plate. drain all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan and set over low heat (if you don't have enough fat in the pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil). add the 4 cloves of minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until soft but not browned, about 1 minute. add the can of crushed tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1.5 teaspoons sugar, and 0.25 teaspoon red pepper flakes and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
4. add the cream, 1/3 cup (33 g) of the pecorino romano, cooked sausage, and basil to the pan; stir until evenly combined. carefully pour the contents of the saute pan into the large pot with the pasta and gently stir to combine. spoon half of the mixture into a 23 x 33cm baking dish. sprinkle with half of the shredded mozzarella (1 cup/113 g) and half the remaining pecorino romano (1.5 tablespoons). spoon the remaining pasta mixture on top and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella (1 cup/113 g) and pecorino romano (1.5 tablespoons). transfer to the oven and bake, uncovered, until the cheese has melted and browned, 15 to 20 minutes. sprinkle with more basil and serve.