Anyone have yummy Baked Ziti recipes?

[lucienne78]

I'm trying to find a really good Baked Ziti recipe, but for some reason I'm having no luck. Anyone have any great baked ziti recipes?

[HillJ]

If you go lighter on the ricotta cheese, grilled zucchini tossed into the casserole dish will stand up to the other strong flavors and adds a nice crunch.

[Jeda]

This is a hearty winter baked ziti... from Mark Bittman's Mimialist column a few years ago... A crowd pleaser, not too fancy, but solid and satisfying and fairly easy.

Time: about an hour

Salt and pepper
1 pound Italian sausage, preferably bulk or ground meat of
any type, or a combination
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped, with liquid
1 pound ziti or other large cut pasta
1 pound mozzarella, grated or chopped
Olive oil or butter as needed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1. Bring large pot of water to boil; salt it. Heat oven to 400
degrees.

2. Distribute meat in large skillet over medium high heat
and cook, undisturbed, until browned on one side, about 5
minutes. Stir, cook another 2 minutes undisturbed, then add
the onion and garlic, if using. Lower heat to medium and
continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables
are soft; add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer while
cooking pasta, stirring and seasoning with salt and pepper
to taste; do not let sauce become too thick.

3. Cook pasta until just tender; it should still be too
hard to eat. Drain it (do not shake the colander; allow
some water to cling to the noodles) and toss it with the
sauce and half the mozzarella. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking
dish and spoon mixture into it. Top with remaining
mozzarella and the Parmesan if using. Bake until top is
browned and cheese bubbly, 20 to 30 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings.

[ESNY]

To second what HillJ said, go easy on the ricotta. Also, add cubed mozzarella to the pasta and mix. Then top with additional mozzarella and parm. cheese and bake till bubbling on top.

[bobbyperu]

That's a good recipe above - as an alternative, use meatballs cut in half instead of the Italian sausage.

[niki rothman]

Mine is easy and meatless but classic: make a quick marinara by processing TJ's canned plum tomatoes (32 oz.), fry 1 minced onion and 4 large minced cloves garlic in evoo, add tomatoes, big pinch red pep flakes, 1/2 tsp sugar & salt, simmer 20 min.
Cook ziti very al dente, mix with whole milk mozzarela, whole milk ricotta and sauce. Top with fresh ground parm and bake at 350 until all the mozz. is melted.

[UnConundrum]

I like to add some fried eggplant, cut into strips. We used to call that Ziti Sicillian

[jenniebnyc]

You can do a baked ziti with ham, peas and a bechamel sauce. I always serve with homemade red sauce on the side.

[Kagey]

This is going to sound really daft, but the best recipe I've seen--that is, the closest to my own homemade--is Carmella's recipe from the Sopranos' Family Cookbook. Seriously.

The secret to good baked ziti is the sauce.

[lucienne78]

One of my relatives has the Sopranos cookbook. I'll be there this weekend, so I'll make sure to make a copy of the Baked Ziti recipe.

[fara]

also recommended: the lemon chicken recipe (just cook the chicken longer than called for)

[zigzag]

I got curious about the Lemon Chicken and found the recipe

http://www.drdonshow.com/recipes/main...

[jfood]

best lemon chicken recipe is Rao's. Can get it on line and it is simple simple simple. and lick ur fingers good.

[LizATL]

We like this one. I actually have saved the magazine for 11 years just for this (although I suppose I could copy it over!).

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec...

It calls for penne, but you could certainly use ziti. It is one of those recipes where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The kalamatas are the secret, I think. Also, instead of havarti, I have substituted smoked gouda to delicious ends.

[prunefeet]

Funny, I always thought of baked ziti as just ziti, sauce and moz on top. Have never been served baked ziti with ricotta let alone any of the other additions...not that they don't sound good, but to me, it's just 3 ingredients or it's not baked ziti. I like the crispy pieces that stick up and get browned in the oven...YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[lucienne78]

Hi prunefeet - it's funny that you say that. I'm the complete opposite - it's not baked ziti to me if it doesn't have ricotta. I need ricotta in my baked ziti. It makes it nice and creamy.

[drobbia]

I agree that baked ziti is made with ziti, everything else is fine just not baked ziti - never heard of ricotta in classic baked ziti, if you do use ricotta try a good pinch of nutmeg in it, stirred well -and for goodness sake use whole milk mozzarela and ricotta -this dish is not for someone trying to lose weight--one more pointer, make it the day before you want to eat it - store covered in foil in the fridge, heat it up for 40 mins.at low heat -- betcha youll love it!

[onefineleo]

I love this recipe from epicurious for baked ziti with spicy pork ragu. It get gobbled up by my family everytime. It is on the spicy side, but truly takes this dish to new heights.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec...

Enjoy!

[nursedr]

Baked Ziti
1or 2 lbs of ziti
20 meatballs
1- 15 oz of ricotta ccheese
1/2 cup of romanoe cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup of milk
tomato sauce

Cook ziti until just tender & drain

beat 2 eggs into the ricotta cheese & alternating the milk & romano cheese into the ricotta cheese. Mix & let stand for 10 minutes.

Crush the meatballs (use a potatoe masher to do this)

Cover your baking pan with tomato sauce, then add ziti. Next cover the ziti with tomato sauce. Then next cover with the crushed meatballs. and then add the ricotta mix over the crushed meatballs.Then cover the ricotta mix with tomato sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

[drgreg]

My favorite is this one: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/r...

Being an Emeril recipe you can cut down on the oil and salt, and I've made it with TVP instead of meat for a vegetarian friend.

[tinarina]

I've made this many times, from Epicurious--Baked Ziti with spinach and tomatoes. I've never bothered with the pesto, but I have put a bunch of fresh basil in with the tomatoes. It's very easy and good:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[gastronomy]

My favorite is meatless but always a huge crowd pleaser- I make a really great red sauce (I love onions, garlic and salt sizzle in Extra Virgin for a while before adding San Mazzanos whole tomatoes that I crush into the pot and simmering seasoning S&P to taste at the very end) If summer I will tear in some fresh basil right before assembling- makes for pretty color throughout and very fresh tasting. I also make a béchamel with flour, butter, milk salt, pepper and a little fresh grated nutmeg.
I mix the ziti rigate (which I boil first for about 6min) with the tomato sauce inside the casserole dish- then add some grated mozz and then pour the béchamel sauce- I top with either more grated mozz or if I have (makes even better) fresh whole milk mozz sliced, grated parm and assiago (or either one)- If you are assembling and eating right away just pop in the broiler until everything is bubbling and there are some really crispy pieces sticking out! :) If not let cool and bake in 375 for about 20min. covered with foil and then broil for a few min. for the crispy effect! YUMMMM!! Let me know if you need more exact measurments/amounts!

[everydayfoodie]

I've been making this Extra-Crusty Baked Rigatoni with Beef Ragù from William Sonoma for several years now and it's always a hit (and would easily take ziti instead of rigatoni as the pasta):

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/recipedetail.cfm?objectid=35112C47%2D4393%2D43DF%2DA39D3BAD93870B77

The recipe isn't overly complex but the combination of mozzarella and asiago (my choice for this recipe instead of Parmesan) is great. The cream makes the sauce decadent and the parsley adds a high of freshness to an otherwise heavy meal. I also substitute the more traditional combination of 1/3 ground beef, 1/3 ground pork, and 1/3 ground veal in place of the straight ground beef suggested in the recipe. You could also add some Italian sausage into the mix as is used int he Mark Bittman recipe and I bet the outcome would be great.

This recipe freezes well. I make a full recipe and freeze half to have to feed my family of 3 on a night when I'm not in the mood to cook but don't want take-out or to go out.

http://everydayfoodie.wordpress.com/