Baked Ziti

Ahh yes. Mikes FAVORITE meal! It all began with The Sopranos.. and it tured into my sister saying "If he isnt careful with that ziti, he'll LOOK like Tony Soprano!!" because it was ALL Mike wanted to eat. So, as last night was his birthday, I made his favorite for him... From scratch.. after a long, long, long day. THATS love.. ooey gooey cheesy love.

Baked Ziti

Tomato Sauce:

1/3 cup olive oil ( I just do 3 swirls around the pan)

4-6 cloves garlic, smashed

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes

2 14 oz cans stewed tomatoes

1/4 cup dried basil

1 tsp dried thyme

1/3 cup dry red wine

1 tsp salt

black pepper to taste


1 lb dried ziti

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

3.5 cups shredded mozzerela cheese, divided


In a heavy pot, saute the garlic in oilve oil over medium heat until cloves turn golden brown. remove the garlic & discard.


Place diced tomatoes & 1 can of stewed tomatoes in a processor or blender. Pulse until corsely chopped. Pour into the pot with the remaining can of tomatoes ( I personally like to give the second can a little chopping too, the stewed tomatoes are too big for my taste, or use a can of smaller already chopped tomatos)

Add basil, thyme, pepper. Bring to a boil. Add the wine & continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring often . Reduce heat to low & simmer 30 minutes.





Cook the ziti according to directions, but reduce cooking time by 1-2 minutes ( use your own judgement here, no one likes crunchy pasta, but no one likes it mushy either!!)




Drain, but dont rinse.


Return to pot & add a small amount of sauce, toss to keep from sticking.

In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, egg, parsley & 1/4 cup parm. cheese with a 1/2 cup of the mozz. cheese. I usually shred my own cheese, it tastes better & doesnt have the chemicals that keeps the shreds from clumping, however.. I had a long day yesterday.. so I used pre shredded.

Coat a large casserole or baking dish with non stick spray ( I use EVOO spray). Place half the pasta in dish. I use a large mug, its roughly equaly to about 2 cups. Or, a regular sized mug, is about 1 cup. Drop cheese mixture by the spoonful over the top of the pasta.

Pour about 2 cups of the sauce over the pasta. Add remaining pasta

pour 2 more cups of sauce over pasta.

Top with the remaining parm & mozz cheese.

Bake 35-40 minutes in a preheated 350 oven.

((((((drool)))))

Eat lots & lots of left overs!!