April 8th, 2012
Recipe and Styling by Paula Bowman
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Heat oil in a large deep skillet and add sausage. Cook sausage, breaking into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon until cooked through. Add garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and bay leaf and cook until sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and discard.
Combine ricotta, half of Parmesan cheese, basil and egg in a bowl and mix. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Transfer all but 1 cup of sauce to a heat-proof bowl and spread remaining sauce evenly on bottom of skillet. Arrange noodles in a single layer on the bottom of the pan, cutting to fit with scissors or a knife, as necessary. Spread 1/3 of ricotta mixture evenly over top of noodles. Add a thin layer of sauce followed by more noodles, ricotta and sauce and repeat again. Finish with a final layer of noodles, cover with sauce and arrange sliced bocconcini on top. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese, cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake until heated through, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 20 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.