Baked Ziti with Eggplant and Sausage

I saw two variations of this recipe on 2 Italian cooking shows within one week. It’s a combination of Eggplant Parmesan and baked Ziti with the sausage added in for good measure. It all looked so good, I just had to make it for the family. Here is my version:

Ingredients:

1 large Eggplant
1 box ziti (or any other pasta of choice)
1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage
16 oz shredded Mozzarella
2-3 cups of prepared marinara tomato sauce
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten with 2 TBS water
1 Tablespoon fresh or dried parsley, salt, pepper, oregano

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Boil whole sausage links until just cooked and firm, drain and set aside to cool. When cooled, slice them up into thin slices.

Boil Ziti in a large pot of salted water until just al dente. Drain well. Pour into a large bake dish brushed with olive oil.

Peel and cut eggplant into large cubes. Put the breadcrumbs into a pie dish. Toss the eggplant in small batches into the egg mixture drain, then roll them around in the bread crumbs. Shake off the excess. Place on a cookie sheet brushed with olive oil and drizzle a little more over them. Baked at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, turn and cook another 5-10 minutes until they’re browned.

Lower the oven temp to 375 degrees.

Pour the marinara over the Ziti. Add in the eggplant, sausage, Oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, make sure to add enough sauce to cover all. Top with mozzarella and fresh parsley. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese just starts to get brown and bubbly.