This heart-healthy pasta bake is kept light by using turkey sausage, oven-roasted eggplant for an extra meaty flavor, and part-skim cheeses. All the same cheesy flavor but without the guilt!
Ingredients:
- Nonstick spray
- One 1-pound small eggplant, cubed into 1-inch pieces
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
- One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with juice, lightly crushed
- One 14.5-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 pound rigatoni
- One 15-ounce container baby greens (such as chard, kale, and spinach)
- One 15-ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Sprays a 13 x 9-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Toss together the eggplant, olive oil, and a hefty pinch of salt and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until golden, about 35 minutes.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the turkey sausage and cook while stirring and breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon, until brown and crumbly, about 4 minutes. Toss in the onion, and continue to sauté until the onions are tender, about 4 minutes more. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices and mix all together. Season the sauce with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, until slightly thickened, and then stir in the roasted eggplant.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add rigatoni to the boiling water and cook 1 minute less than package instructions. Add greens to the colander and place it in the sink. When pasta is cooked, drain over the greens in the colander to wilt them down.
Add pasta and greens back into the pasta pot and pour the tomato sauce over. Stir well so it’s all mixed together. Add half of the pasta to the casserole dish and dollop with half of the ricotta then sprinkle with half of the mozzarella. Top with another layer of pasta and sprinkle with mozzarella and dollop with the ricotta. Bake for 25 minutes, until bubbly and golden.
