Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage & Spinach

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Cook the pasta until it’s just shy of al dente, about 2 minutes less than the suggested cooking time. (The noodles will finish cooking in the oven.) Reserve ½ cup cooking water, and then drain pasta.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the sausage, onion, garlic, Vinny R’s seasoning and salt and cook until the meat is browned, stirring often (about 8 minutes).

4. Add the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings with additional salt or freshly ground black pepper as desired. Stir in reserved pasta water and the spinach and cook until the leaves wilt, another minute. Stir in the drained pasta and heat, stirring to combine flavors, for another minute.

5. Combine the mozzarella and Parmesan in a small bowl.

6. Pour half of the pasta mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle half of the cheese. Top with the remaining pasta mixture and finish with the remaining cheese.

7. Place the baking dish on a rimmed sheet pan (it will be easier to remove from the oven) and bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and browned. If you want the top even crispier, finish under the broiler for a minute or two.

8. Allow the pasta to cool for 5-10 minutes, and then serve.