My Old-School Baked Ziti
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Ingredients
9 servings
- Glug of olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped small
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage, casings removed
- 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with juices, chopped by you, or crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Red pepper flakes, to taste
- 1 pound pasta, cooked al dente and drained
- 3/4 pound mozzarella, coarsely grated
- 2/3 cup finely grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
- 1/4 pound (4 ounces) baby spinach or a few handfuls of another green, cut into thin ribbons
- To serve: Dollops of your favorite ricotta and slivers of basil leaves, if desired
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Preparation
Step 1
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 2
Cook pasta until quite al dente, or 2 minutes less than the suggested cooking time. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain pasta.
Step 3
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Coat with a glug of olive oil, and heat oil.
Step 4
Add meat and cook with onion, garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and salt over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until meat is browned; stirring frequently.
Step 5
If using plain ground beef versus sausage meat, season well with salt and pepper.
Step 6
Add crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 7
Adjust seasonings to taste. If it's become quite thick, stir in reserved pasta water.
Step 8
Add spinach and cook until wilted, just another minute. Stir in drained pasta and heat together for one minute.
Step 9
Pour half of pasta mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish, lasagna pan, or other 3-quart baking vessel.
Step 10
Sprinkle with half of each cheese.
Step 11
Pour remaining pasta and sauce over, and finish with remaining cheese.
Step 12
Bake in heated oven for 30 minutes.
Step 13
If desired, run the dish under your broiler for a minute or two for an extra-bronzed lid right before serving.
Step 14
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Chef's notes
To make this without meat, use a pound or so of sliced mushrooms to make it vegetarian.
To freeze, you can freeze this unbaked and once defrosted, bake it in the oven as directed.
Freezing after baking leads to softer noodles.
Crispy edges are more achievable using a round or oval dish and ziti noodles (with straight ends) versus penne noodles (with angled ends).
Pour the pasta mix into the dish, don't press it into corners for better results.