Description
I am half Italian, was raised eating the finest Italian-American cuisine, and have filmed almost 2000 recipe videos, so when you consider all of those facts, it seems incredible that I have never posted a video for baked ziti. Hopefully I make up for that long wait by posting what I think is the best version of it.
Ingredients
- ¾ pound hot Italian sausage
- ¾ pound sweet Italian sausage
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 (24 ounce) jars prepared marinara sauce
- 2 cups water
- 1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
- 1 drizzle olive oil
- 1 ½ cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 teaspoon chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, or to taste
Instructions
- Cut down the length of each sausage with a sharp knife. Remove and discard casings.
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan set over high heat. Add sausages and onion. Cook
- stirring occasionally and breaking up with a spatula
- until sausage begins to brown
- and onion turns translucent
- 5 to 7 minutes. Add oregano
- thyme
- and rosemary and cook for 1 minute more. Pour in marinara sauce. Pour 1 cup water into each jar to rinse out remaining sauce; add to the saucepan. Stir together and bring sauce to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low
- and let simmer
- stirring occasionally
- for 1 hour. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. Turn off heat and reserve until needed. Before using
- skim any excess fat that rises to the surface.
- While sauce simmers
- bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook
- stirring occasionally
- for 1 or 2 minutes less than the directions on the package call for
- about 8 minutes. Drain well and transfer into a large mixing bowl.
- Carefully add the meat sauce and stir until thoroughly combined. Let rest for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile
- preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a large 9×15-inch or 9×13-inch casserole dish with a drizzle of olive oil.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer half of the pasta and sauce mixture to the prepared dish
- then use a spatula to even out into a uniform layer. Top with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese
- 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese
- and then 1/2 of the grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- being sure to distribute evenly. Top with the rest of the pasta and sauce mixture and give the pan a little shake to settle the sauce. Repeat the cheese application.
- Bake in the center of the preheated oven until the cheese is melted and the casserole is piping hot
- 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Top with parsley.
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 45 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 10