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.

Two recipes with roasted cauliflower

Often my cooking focuses on a meat/fish entrée, and the vegetables on the side are kept simple. But it's also nice to spend time making a special vegetable dish, and then serve a simply prepared portion of protein.  The other night I made this roasted cauliflower dish and served it with pan-fried salmon—a very nice combination.

I love cauliflower simply roasted with olive oil (either flowerets, or slabs cut from the head, as my brother showed me), but the combination of flavors in this recipe are a great addition.  After I cooked it, I realized that I make something very similar as a topping for pasta, so I'll post that recipe after this one. In fact, this first recipe would also be quite nice on pasta, or mixed into rice or farro for a grain salad.

roasted cauliflower with feta, almonds, and olives

adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019657-roasted-cauliflower-with-feta-almonds-and-olives

about 6 servings

2 heads of cauliflower, cut into small florets

1/4 cup olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper

Pinch of red-pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 cup sliced almonds (or roughly chopped)—toasted if desired (I didn't)

1/3 heaping cup (about 2 ounces) crumbled feta

1/2 cup pitted and roughly chopped garlic-stuffed green olives

2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley

juice from 1/2 lemon (optional—I happened to forget to add this)

1.    Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower with the olive oil. Season well with the salt, pepper and red-pepper flakes and toss again. Spread the mixture evenly onto a large sheet pan and roast until crisp and golden, about 30-35 minutes, tossing halfway through to ensure even browning.

2.    Toss the roasted cauliflower in a large bowl with the feta cheese, olives, the almonds the parsley until combined. Squeeze lemon on top, if desired.

spaghetti with roasted cauliflower and olives

adapted from Liz Vaccariello, Flat Belly Diet Cookbook

4 servings

The original recipe did not specify garlic-stuffed green olives, but I find them very convenient to use, and it's hard to go wrong with extra garlic. So, for the actual 4 cloves of garlic that get roasted with the cauliflower, I stick with smallish cloves. If you find it more convenient, you could try this with 20 ounces of frozen cauliflower (called for in the original recipe), but I've always made it with fresh.  

1 head of cauliflower (enough to yield 20 ounces of cauliflower)

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

4 cloves garlic, chopped

8-10 ounces multigrain or whole-wheat spaghetti

20 garlic-stuffed green olives, slices (about 2/3 cup) (a 4.5 oz jar is about 1 cup)

2 T. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

1.    Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.    Rinse the cauliflower, and break into florets. Toss with 2 T. olive oil and the chopped garlic and then transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes or until the cauliflower is well-browned.

3.    As the cauliflower cooks, prepare the spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss the spaghetti with the remaining 2 T. of olive oil, and then add the cauliflower mixture, olives, cheese, and red-pepper flakes. Toss well and serve.