Thursday, April 23, 2009

Baked Ziti


1 lb dried ziti pasta
4 C Quick Tomato Sauce (see recipe below)
2 C shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)
3/4 C Parmesan Cheese (divided)
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
pinch red pepper flakes
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, and boil the pasta until al dente, tender but still slightly firm. Drain.
Toss the cooked pasta with the tomato sauce, half the mozzarella cheese, half the Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and pepper flakes. Transfer the pasta to an oiled 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Cover the top of the pasta with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Bake until lightly browned and hot, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Quick Tomato Sauce:

1 pound Italian Sausage (casing removed and crumbled) you can buy it already removed at store
1 med onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1-28oz can tomatoes in puree (roughly chopped)
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the sausage until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and the herbs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
Use now or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

1 comment:

  1. I made this tonight and it was really good! I cheated and used bottled sauce because I didn't time (or motivation) to make the sauce from scratch. Next time I'll totally make it from scratch though.

    Great recipe!

    ReplyDelete