Baked Ziti
A while back, our friends Marlyn and Chris invited us over for some delicious baked ziti. I’ve been wanting to make it ever since then. I couldn’t find the recipe Marlyn emailed me, so I decided to give this one a try. Of course, then I found the recipe she sent me. Go figure. I was very happy with this recipe; however, I still want to give the other one a try soon. I think it’s nice to compare different recipes for the same dish. This ziti had a lot of flavor and came together quite quickly. Really, the only complaint I have is that it made way too much for just the two of us. Even after eating leftovers, we still had a ton of it left. This was great with a crusty loaf of Italian bread baked with butter and fresh garlic.
Baked Ziti
Ingredients:
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 ounces ziti rigate (ridged) or other short pasta
1 cup part-skim ricotta
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
1 jar (24 to 26 ounces) best-quality tomato sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)
Directions:
-Preheat oven to 450°.
-Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
-Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain and reserve.
-In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.
-In the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce.
-Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce.
-Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella.
-Place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.
Source: Everyday Food
Mmm – anything with gooey cheese is good eats to me!
I was wondering, do think this is something you can put together the night before keep in the fridge then bake in the oven the next day? I’m still learning alot about cooking so I’m just curious. Thanks!
Amber
Amber, I don’t really see that it would be a problem since it can be baked, refrigerated or frozen and then reheated. Just make sure you don’t overcook the noodles; they should be firm but not hard. That should prevent them from getting too moist in the refrigerator overnight.
I made this tonight and it was awesome. I def should have listened to you about how much ziti because when I put in the amount you had… I was like umm that just doesn’t look like enough so I put in a little more and boy do we have a ton of leftovers. Oh well it will be good because my Bro-in-law is coming into town this weekend so hopefully he will help take care of it. Thanks so much I will def be blogging about it soon and linking it back to you! 🙂 And I am actually planning on making it for Wed night dinner at church one night. Thanks again!