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1
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
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2
Prepare fresh Basil leaves by tearing or chopping them into dime-sized pieces and set aside.
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3
Cut about five slices of the fresh Mozzarella cheese and set aside.
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4
Cube the remaining Mozzarella cheese and set aside. I use about half of the cheese as cubes and about half as slices.
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5
Dice the tomatoes and set aside.
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6
Pour the Olive oil into your favorite skillet and apply medium heat.
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7
Fill a large pot with water, and apply high heat to boil the pasta.
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8
Lightly oil a 9 x 13 inch baking dish that is about 2 inches deep.
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9
Into a large bowl, combine the Marinara sauce, the diced tomatoes, the Basil, the Oregano, the red pepper flakes and the cubes of Mozzarella.
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10
Remove the casings from the sausages and brown in the skillet, breaking the sausages into clumps.
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11
Cook the Rigatoni in the boiling water until just tender. I like to add olive oil and salt to the water here, but you may cook your pasta how you like.
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12
After the pasta and sausage are cooked, add both to the large bowl and thoroughly, but gently, combine.
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13
Once everything has been mixed, pour the contents of the bowl into the baking dish.
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14
Place the slices of Mozzarella on top of the mixture. I like to cut the slices into smaller slices so I get a nice even distribution of Mozzarella on the top of the mixture.
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15
Place in the pre-heated oven, on the middle rack, and bake for about 20 minutes.
