Individual Baked Rigatoni Cakes

Photo: Jo Ann

Ingredients

Ingredients:

16 ounces rigatoni pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 ounces ground turkey

8 ounces hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

3 garlic cloves, minced

salt and fresh ground black pepper

28 ounces can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes

4 ounces (about 1 cup) fresh grated Parmesan cheese

6 ounces (about 1-½ cups) shredded mo zzarella cheese

Preparation

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, add pasta and cook until slightly underdone. Drain, rinse in cold water, then drain well. Place back into the pot, off the heat, and toss with 1 tablespoon oil.

In a large skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high. Add ground turkey ad turkey sausage. Cook, stirring to crumble, until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, cook until fragrant, about 1 minutes. Season with salt an fresh ground black pepper and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in tomatoes, bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Coat a 9-inch springform pan (I used 4 4-inch individual springform pans)with cooking spray. Add Parmesan cheese into the pot with the pasta and toss well to coat. Tightly pack pasta into springform pan, standing each piece on end. Scoop about 2 cups of the meat mixture on top of the pasta, gently pushing it into any of the holes. Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and scatter the top with mozzarella. Place back into the oven and bake until the cheese has melted and turned golden, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool at Least 10 minutes before serving. Serve with any remaining sauce on the side or on top.