Rigatoni with Pizza Accents

Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Description

Spicy pepperoni is added to a delicious medley of sauteed Italian sausage, onions, garlic, mushrooms, green bell peppers, tomatoes and fresh basil. Stir cooked rigatoni into the sauce and give it a long, slow simmer until all the flavors meld.

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package rigatoni pasta
2 pounds Italian sausage
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
3 1/2 ounces sliced pepperoni sausage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1/2 pound diced pepperoni
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1 Cook rigatoni pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well. Set aside.
2 In a large skillet, fry sausage until cooked through but not brown. Add chopped onions and minced garlic. Stir and cook until soft. Add sliced mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes. Add chopped green pepper and cook slowly until soft. Drain off any excess fat.
3 Stir in tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, fresh basil and pepperoni. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add cooked rigatoni noodles. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4 Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been cooked off.