| 1 | In a wide-bottomed pan or skillet with high sides over medium heat, brown sausage for about 5 minutes. |
| 2 | Push sausage to side of pan. |
| 3 | Add onions and garlic; saute in sausage fat about 2 minutes. |
| 4 | Pour off all but a thin film of fat. |
| 5 | Add tomatoes and marsala to pan. |
| 6 | If using dried basil, add it now. |
| 7 | Cook over medium heat until sauce reduces and thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes. |
| 8 | Stir in fresh basil or parsley. |
| 9 | Season to taste with salt and pepper, if necessary. |
| 10 | Use immediately or cool to room temperature and refrigerate or freeze (see timesaver tip). |
| 11 | To serve: cook 8 ounces ziti or rigatoni, following package directions. |
| 12 | Drain. |
| 13 | Serve sauce over pasta. |
| 14 | Top each serving with a spoonful of ricotta cheese. |
| 15 | makes 4 cups. |
| 16 | * timesaver tip: sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead, covered and refrigerated, or it can be frozen. |
| 17 | To freeze, spoon into a freezer container, cover, label, and freeze at 0 °F up to 1 month. |
| 18 | To serve, defrost sauce 15 to 20 minutes in microwave oven on defrost setting, or thaw in refrigerator 8 to 24 hours. |
| 19 | Gently warm sauce in saucepan or in a microwave oven on 50% power until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. |
| 20 | Stir sauce several times during microwave defrosting. |
| 21 | recipe by : the california culinary academy |
