I still had two steak burgers in the freezer from one farmer’s market and a package of sage sausage from another, plus with all of my newly canned tomatoes I thought it was a perfect combination for baked ziti. Tony took the day off of work to work around the house instead of at the office, so he volunteered to put a dinner together. He made a couple of suggestions that I vetoed because I can’t blog about the same food twice in one year – we are on a mission here after all – I must have a new recipe and photograph for my readers! I told him about my baked ziti idea, and being a true Italian, he was all for it. In the end, he said it took longer than expected, so if you aren’t home for a while before dinner, you’ll probably want to save it for a weekend.
If you didn’t can tomatoes you can substitute crushed, stewed, or sauce. I started this recipe from one by Ree Drummond on the Food Network. My mother-in-law always makes extra sauce with her lasagna and other pasta creations, usually with meatballs and spicy sausage in it. I like having extra sauce too, generally without the meat, because my favorite way to serve ziti is in a pool of sauce. This recipe makes just enough sauce for the ziti, so if you also like extra, then make more and reserve some for your plate pool. You can substitute other types and quantities of meats, or even leave it out and use some diced mushroom instead.
Baked Ziti
1 T avocado oil
1 chopped Vidalia onion
3 crushed cloves garlic
1 lb ground sausage
½ lb ground steak
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 pint jars of canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, or jars of sauce
2 T fresh chopped basil
1 T fresh chopped oregano
½ t red pepper flakes
1 pound ziti
1 1/2 pounds mozzarella, grated
15 oz whole-milk ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 eggs
4 T chopped fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 375. Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and sauté 3-4 minutes. Add the meat and cook until browned. Drain off most of the fat. Stir in your tomatoes and sauces, herbs, and red pepper. Sprinkle with sea salt. Simmer for 25 minutes then set aside.
Meanwhile prepare the ziti according to the package until not quite al dente and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking.
In a bowl, mix 2 cups of the grated mozzarella, the ricotta, Parmesan, half the parsley, and 2 eggs. Add the cooked pasta to the cheese mixture and toss to slightly combine (there should still be large lumps). Mix in 3 cups of the cooked sauce
Add half the coated pasta mixture to a large baking pan. Spoon half of the remaining sauce over the top, then top with half the remaining mozzarella. Repeat with the rest of the coated pasta, then the remaining sauce and mozzarella.
Bake 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes then sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.
