Baked Ziti
March 27, 2010
This is a classic italian dish that everyone loves. I’ve made it a few times already in the last couple of months, and each time it was better and better, especially for left overs. Ziti pasta is a thick long tube, about 18 inches long, that is broken into pieces before it is cooked. Of course the ziti pasta that we buy today is already broken into 2 inch pieces. Ziti get’s it’s name from the word Zita, which means a young woman who is about to become a bride. So in part’s of Italy, baked Ziti is served at weddings, as part of the italian tradition, according to WikiAnswers.com. This particular recipe is baked in a nonstick pan that performs in the oven as well as the stove top. If you do not have a pan that performs this way, use your favorite casserole dish that is lightly greased with olive oil to prevent sticking. I found this recipe in my mail box, from the Williams Sonoma mail catalog. Please enjoy!
For more Ziti recipes, click here.
- 4 tsp. plus 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
- 1 eggplant cut into ½” cubes
- 1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1-28oz. can crushed plum tomatoes, juice included
- 5 oz. ziti, cooked al dente
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- ½ cup rinsed chopped kalamata olives
- 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 10” nonstick pan over medium heat, add 2 tsp. olive oil and brown sausage to nice golden brown, drain on paper towels. Add 2 tsp. olive to your pan over medium heat and brown eggplant for 6 minutes until slightly soft. Transfer to a large bowl. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and brown onion over medium heat until soft; add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add wine, increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits. Cook 3 minutes, add tomatoes with juices, simmer 10 minutes.
Add sausage, pasta, basil, olives, 2 cups mozzarella, and tomato sauce to bowl with eggplant; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer back to your nonstick pan (or casserole dish). Sprinkle with ½ cup mozzarella, and fresh grated parmesan. Cover, bake 25 minutes. uncover, broil at 500 degrees for 5 minutes.
Serves: 6
Total time: 60 minutes
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