Recipe - Jaynis Rigatoni And Italian Sausage

1 pound Italian sausage; cut in 1"
pieces*
2 tablespoon Olive oil
1 Onion; large, coarsely
chopped
1 Bell pepper; large, coarsely
chopped
3 Cloves garlic; minced
1 cn (12oz.) tomato paste
1 cn (16oz.) minced tomato
1 cup Water
One fourth teaspoon Crushed red pepper (or more
to taste)
1 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Pepper
1 Bay leaf
1 pound Rigatoni (pasta)
2 tablespoon Butter (or margarine);
softened
Shredded Parmesan cheese

1. In heavy dutch oven, brown sausage pieces in olive oil.

2. Remove sausage and add onion and bell pepper. Cook until tender.

3. Return sausage to pot and add remaining ingredients (except for
rigatoni).

4. Bring mixture just to a boil, then reduce heat to a very low simmer.

5. Cook, uncovered, for 1One half to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

6. When sauce is nearly done, cook rigatoni in salted boiling water to al
dente perfection. Drain.

7. Toss pasta lightly with butter, then serve with sauce. Top with Parmesan
cheese, if desired.

Serving Ideas : Accompany with tossed salad and crusty bread

NOTES : I don't remember where I got this recipe originally, but I've been
making this dish for at least 30 years, and have made enough revisions that
I now consider it my own. The sauce is one of the best tomatobased Italian
sauces I've ever

tasted. I usually remove the casing from the sausage. I used to always use
Hillshire Farm Hot, but they made it much hotter a while back, and I now
use sweet.
Recipe by: Jayni Mosher

Posted to TNT Prodigy's Recipe Exchange Newsletter by
poobery@ix.netcom.com on Sep 20, 1997