Baked Ziti

This recipe caught my eye as something that would work well to bring to a potluck, or to bring around to the home of someone who might need a meal. Also, it has the wide appeal of lasagna, but is much easier to make. It can be made ahead and re-heated, and if you don’t eat it all, what’s left can be frozen for later. If you don’t want to make the full recipe, you can halve it and use an 8x8” square pan. 

The recipe calls for ziti pasta, which wasn’t available in my grocery store. I used rigatoni instead, which was just fine, and I assume other tubular pasta (penne, mostaccioli) would also work just as well. 

 

The recipe calls for a pound of ground beef, but the head note mentioned that the author had also made it without meat and it was also good that way. Since I was preparing it for a vegetarian meal, I left out the meat. I didn’t change anything else, so the sauce was just the sautéed onion and the tomato sauce. The dish was a big hit (including a teenager asking her mom to please get the recipe), so I’m inclined to do it exactly the same way next time. Another option would be to keep it vegetarian, but add a diced green pepper and maybe some minced carrots with the onion.

 

About the tomato sauce: I used Rao’s homemade marinara sauce, which was selected by wirecutter.com as the best all-purpose marinara sauce. It’s also conveniently available at my local Aldi store.

 

One small caution: My large pan was 9x12” rather than 9x13.” Without the meat, the recipe filled it to the brim. If you make it with meat, or even with more vegetables, I’d suggest not going smaller than a 9x13 pan.

 

OK, a long introduction for a short, simple recipe!

  

BAKED ZITI

slightly adapted from https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/11758/baked-ziti-i/

10 servings

1 pound dry ziti (or other tubular) pasta

1 onion, chopped 

1 pound lean ground beef (can be left out)

2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce

6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced

1 ½ cups sour cream

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I used more than this)

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter (or spray oil) a 9x13-inch baking dish.

 

Put a large pot of water on to boil. While the water is coming to a boil, brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium heat; stir in spaghetti sauce and simmer for 15 minutes. 

 

In the meantime, when the water has come to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain. (If the pasta is ready before the sauce, run cold water over it in the strainer, to stop the cooking.)

 

Spread 1/2 of the pasta in the bottom of the prepared dish. Top with slices of Provolone cheese. Put spoonfuls of sour cream on top of the cheese, and then use a knife or spatula to spread out the sour cream over the cheese.

 

Add 1/2 of the sauce, remaining pasta, mozzarella cheese, and remaining sauce. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

 

Bake in the preheated oven until heated through and cheeses have melted, about 30 minutes.