Weekend Cooking: Baked Ziti

Hello everyone! This week I have a very short and sweet post. When you're reading this, I'll be at my annual fall lace-making workshop / retreat. My traditional contribution is to make a pasta dinner on Saturday night.

This year, I'm going bold by making a recipe I've never made before. Well, let me back up. I've made many versions of baked ziti over the years, but I don't have any particular go-to recipe. So the other day I did an internet search and found the recipe I'm sharing here. If you have a favorite recipe, please share!

I picked it because it got a ton of 5 stars and over 200 positive comments. Fingers crossed that my friends will like it.

The recipe says you can assemble the dish ahead ahead and bake later, but because made the casserole two days early, I was worried about the noodles getting too mushy or absorbing all the sauce.

So I decided to go ahead and bake it and then just reheat it Saturday. Fortunately, I'm cooking for friends and I'm not too concerned about trying to impress anyone. If it's dry, well, then, I learned something. We'll eat it anyway. Plus someone else is making a salad and we'll have plenty of baked goods for dessert.

The recipe comes from Simply Recipes. Because the website says you can't use their photos without prior written permission, I'm using a random baked ziti photo I found on the internet. I forgot to photograph my own pan of baked of ziti, and I don't want to unwrap it since it's all ready to go into the cooler for my trip.

Baked Ziti
from Simply Recipes
Serves at least 8

• 1 pound ziti pasta
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 large jar of marinara sauce (about 24 oz)
• 1 heaping cup of ricotta cheese
• 1/2 pound of mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta to al dente according to the package instructions. When cooked, drain and toss with a little olive oil to prevent the noodles from sticking.

Brown the meat over medium-high heat. When brown, drain most of the grease. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the garlic and spices and cook for about 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce, mix well, and bring to a simmer.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Dot with about half the ricotta. Stir a ladle full of sauce into the noodles and then put into the pan. Top with the remaining sauce. Dot the top with the remaining ricotta. Sprinkle on the mozzarella and then the Parmesan. Bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbly.

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