Naunie's Pastera (Leftover Easter Pasta Bake)

Naunie's Pastera (Leftover Easter Pasta Bake)

Ever wonder what to do with the small amounts of leftover dry pasta that are in your cupboard? Once a year, at Easter, use them in this Italian baked pasta dish!
  • Preparation:
  • Cooking:
  • Total:
  • Serves: 2 persons

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Grease a 2-quart and a 1 1/2-quart round glass baking dish each with 3/4 teaspoon olive oil; drizzle 1 tablespoon of remaining olive oil into bottom of each baking dish.
  2. Step 2

    Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook macaroni, ziti, farfalle, and radiatore pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.
  3. Step 3

    Arrange sausage slices on foil-lined baking sheet.
  4. Step 4

    Bake sausage in the preheated oven until browned and crisp, 30 to 45 minutes. Lower oven heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
  5. Step 5

    Beat eggs in a large bowl until foamy, using an electric mixer. Add Pecorino-Romano cheese, salt, and black pepper; continue to beat egg mixture with electric mixer on highest speed until eggs and cheese are blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir cooked pasta into eggs and cheese; mixture should be runny and look like pasta is floating in egg mixture. Stir additional beaten eggs and Pecorino-Romano cheese into mixture if more egg mixture is needed.
  6. Step 6

    Ladle spoonfuls of egg-pasta mixture into each casserole, followed by a layer of sausage; continue layering pasta mixture and sausage until all sausage has been used. Top casseroles with final layer of pasta mixture. Drizzle top of each casserole with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Small pieces of pasta should stick out of the egg mixture.
  7. Step 7

    Bake in the oven until casseroles are set in the center, about 1 hour; raise oven heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking until the tops of casseroles are browned and crispy, 1 to 1 1/2 more hours.