Baked Ziti
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This is my #1 comfort food. I grew up in Westchester County, New York, and as you likely know, New York has a large Italian American population, whose contribution to Westchester Suburban Moms’ Weeknight Cooking cannot be overstated. When I was growing up, everyone’s Mom made Baked Ziti regularly. Think of it as Lasagna’s more approachable little sister because it has a similar flavor profile to lasagna with a fraction of the work! My family likes it even more than lasagna because of the way that ziti noodles crisp up in the oven. I typically serve it with a big salad, or some roasted veggies, and we all happily overeat.
A note about sauce: Whether you use homemade or store bought is up to you, but temperature is key when preparing ziti. If you plan on making the ziti and eating it in short order, warm sauce is ideal because it helps the pasta absorb flavor and allows cheeses to melt smoothly. If you are making the ziti in advance, cold sauce better. Just undercook the pasta slightly and use plenty of sauce so it stays creamy after refrigeration.
Ingredients
1 box ziti
4 tbsp Kosher salt
4-5 cups of your favorite red sauce (if using a hearty meat sauce you will need 4-5 cups, for a thinner sauce, like marinara, use appx. 4 cups), warmed on stove (if making ziti in advance, you may use cold sauce but you may need to increase the quantity of sauce slightly)
1 1/2-2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (Pecorino Romano or Grana Padano work well too)
1 cup ricotta cheese
2-3 heaping cups shredded mozzarella (appx. 1 lb.)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°(F). Add appx. 2-3 tbsp salt to 6 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Cook pasta until just shy of al dente, then drain and add back to the empty pot. Add the sauce and mix thoroughly.
- Scatter 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over pasta and add ricotta cheese into the center to pot. Stir gently. You don’t want it to be homogeneous. You want visible streaks of ricotta cheese to remain.
- Use a small amount of olive oil to grease a casserole or baking dish (4 or 5 quart capacity), then add your pasta mixture and top with the remaining Parmesan and all the mozzarella. Bake on middle rack for about 25-30 minutes (check for doneness at appx. 20 min), until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. If you like a bronze lid of crusty cheese, place baked ziti under your oven broiler (on high) and DO NOT WALK AWAY. Cheese goes from golden to burnt very quickly, so keep an eye on it. It should only take a few minutes under the broiler to look like mine does in the photo. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then dig in!
Sarah Faris: The salad Whisperer
Sarah is a classically trained chef and Mom whose passion is spreading the gospel of salad. A native New Yorker, she now calls Miami, FL home.
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