Baked Spaghetti Recipe

Ingredients
3/4 lb vermicelli pasta or thin spaghetti
1 lb bulk sweet Italian sausage
1/4 pound shiitake or cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, chopped, about 1 1/2 cups
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cups or 24 ounces of marinara or meatless tomato sauce*
1 1/2 cups water
1 bsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 bsp olive oil plus more for greasing the casserole dish
1 cup grated !armesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup ricotta cheese
2"3 cups shredded mo##arella cheese
Method
1 !ut a large pot of water on the stove on high heat$ %dd salt to the water, about 2 bsp for & 'uarts
of water$ (hile the pasta water is heating, continue with the ne)t steps$

2 *reak up the sausage into clumps into a large saut+ pan$ urn the heat on, to medium$ ,lowly
cook the sausage, breaking it up into smaller pieces with the a wooden spoon$ he slow cooking
will help the fat render out$ -ook until the sausage is cooked through, no longer pink anywhere, and
lightly browned$ .emove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside$ /rain the fat
from the pan 0not into your sink or you may clog it12

3 %dd the chopped onions and mushrooms to the pan$ Increase the heat to medium high$ -ook,
stirring fre'uently, until the onions become translucent and the mushrooms have given up some of
their li'uid$ %dd the minced garlic and red chili pepper flakes, and cook a minute more$
4 %dd the marinara sauce and the 1 1/2 cups of water to the pan with the onions and mushrooms$
%dd the sausage back to the pan$ %dd the Italian seasoning and chopped parsley$ *ring to a
simmer and reduce the heat to a very low simmer on the lowest simmer setting on your stovetop$
-ook for 13 to 14 minutes or so while you make the pasta$
5 *y this time your pasta water in step one should be boiling$ %dd the pasta to the boiling water and
cook, uncovered, at a rolling boil, for 4 to & minutes, al dente$ 5ote that the pasta will continue to
cook and absorb some of the sauce when it is in the casserole dish in the oven, so the pasta should
be al dente$ (hen ready, drain the past and rinse in cold water$

6 !lace the cooled pasta in a large bowl$ oss with olive oil, then the !armesan, then 2 beaten eggs$
It6s easiest to do this with your 0clean2 hands$
7 !reheat your oven to 34378$ .ub the inside of a 13)9 inch casserole dish 0a !yre) dish works
great2 with olive oil$ ,pread 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of the casserole dish$

8 !lace half of the pasta in an even layer in the casserole dish$ -over with half of the sauce$ hen
dot the sauce with all of the ricotta cheese$ ,prinkle half of the :o##arella over the ricotta layer$
;ayer again with the remaining pasta, the remaining sauce, and the remaining :o##arella$
9 -over with foil and bake for 43 min at 34378$ .emove the foil and bake an additional 23 minutes
uncovered$ .emove from oven and let rest for at least 13 minutes before cutting into s'uares and
serving$