Sausage and Mushroom Penne Gratin

yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings

active time: 10 min

total time: 30 min

 

Ingredients

1 pound dried penne

1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound packaged sliced mushrooms

1 garlic clove, forced through a garlic press

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

8 ounces shredded whole-milk mozzarella, divided

Directions

1. Cook penne in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta and transfer to a flameproof 3-quart baking dish.
2. Preheat broiler.
3. Meanwhile, cook sausage in 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large pieces, until no longer pink. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl, leaving fat in skillet.
4. Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet along with mushrooms and garlic, then cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden, about 3 minutes.
5. Return sausage to skillet along with cream, reserved 1/2 cup cooking water, a rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and boil over high heat, stirring once or twice, until thickened, about 4 minutes. Pour over pasta, then stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and salt to taste. Spread evenly in baking dish and top with remaining mozzarella.
6. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat until golden brown in spots, about 5 minutes

Instead of traditional baked pasta, we broiled mozzarella-topped penne and sausage to get that bubbly melted cheese everyone loves, minus a lot of oven time.