Southwest Baked Ziti Food

THE BEST BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Cut down the length of each sausage with a sharp knife. Remove and discard casings.
• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan set over high heat. Add sausages and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up with a spatula, until the sausage begins to brown, and the onion turns translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add oregano, thyme, and rosemary and cook for 1 minute more. Pour in marinara sauce. Pour 1 cup water into each jar to rinse out remaining sauce; add to the saucepan. Stir together and bring sauce to a simmer.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low, and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. Turn off heat and reserve until needed. Before using, skim any excess fat that rises to the surface.
• While sauce simmers, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 or 2 minutes less than the directions on the package call for, about 8 minutes. Drain well and transfer into a large mixing bowl.
• Carefully add the meat sauce and stir until thoroughly combined. Let rest for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a large 9x15-inch or 9x13-inch casserole dish with a drizzle of olive oil.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer half of the pasta and sauce mixture to the prepared dish, then use a spatula to even out into a uniform layer. Top with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese, and then 1/2 of the grated Pecorino Romano cheese, being sure to distribute evenly. Top with the rest of the pasta and sauce mixture and give the pan a little shake to settle the sauce. Repeat the cheese application.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until the cheese is melted and the casserole is piping hot, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Top with parsley.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Cook the pasta: Heat a large pot of salted water (for every 2 quarts of water, one tablespoon of salt) to a strong boil. Add the pasta and cook at a rolling boil, uncovered, until the pasta is al dente-edible but still a little firm to the bite. Drain the pasta through a colander. Toss with a little olive oil so the pasta does not stick together while you make the sauce.
• Brown the meat: While the water is heating in the previous step, start on the sauce. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering hot, add the bulk sausage or ground meat. Break up any large chunks of sausage as it cooks. Brown well. Don't stir that often or it will be more difficult for the meat to brown. If you are using ground beef or pork instead of sausage, sprinkle with a little salt.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and sausage and cook until browned. Drain off almost all of the fat, leaving a bit behind for flavor and moisture. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and some salt and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove 3 to 4 cups of the cooked sauce to a bowl to cool down.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add some salt. Cook the ziti until not quite al dente.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a bowl, mix 2 cups of the grated mozzarella, the ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, eggs and some salt and pepper. Stir together just a couple of times (do not mix completely).
• Drain the pasta and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking and cool it down. Pour it into the bowl with the cheese mixture and toss to slightly combine (there should still be large lumps). Add the cooled reserved meat sauce and toss to combine.
• Add half the coated pasta to a large casserole dish or lasagna dish. Spoon half of the remaining sauce over the top, then top with half the remaining mozzarella. Repeat with another layer of the coated pasta and the remaining sauce and mozzarella.
• Bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before sprinkling with chopped parsley to serve.

SOUTHWEST BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook pasta according until almost done.
• Spray a 8 inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine tomato sauce and salsa.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese with half of the mozzarella cheese.
• Next blend in half of the tomata/salsa sauce, corn, chopped green chilies, oregano and pepper.
• Add the cooked ziti to mixture and mix well.
• Spoon in pasta mixture into your 8 inch casserole dish.
• Spread the remaining sauce over the top followed by the mozzarella cheese and then the grated Parmesan cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes.
• Uncover and bake 15 more minutes.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Boil ziti, following package directions, drain and place in a large bowl.
• Mix all the ricotta cheese and half of the mozzarella with the ziti.
• Spray a 13x9 pan with Pam.
• Cover the bottom half of the pan with about half the sauce.
• Put the ziti mixture on top of sauce.
• Pour remaining sauce on top of ziti.
• Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
• Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and it is lightly golden.

TOFU BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare sauce: in medium-size saucepan ove medium-high heat, cook onion and garlic in vegetable oil 2-3 minutes.
• Add tomato sauces, 1 Tablespoon parsley and oregano.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook ziti according to package directions, omitting salt.
• While ziti is cooking, puree tofu with egg white in food processor or blender container.
• Place in large bowl.
• Add spinach, remaining tablespoon parsley, nutmeg and pepper.
• Blend well.
• Drain ziti and add to tofu mixture; blend well.
• Place 1/4 sauce in bottom of 2-quart casserole.
• Add 1/3 tofu-ziti mixture spreading with large spoon or spatula.
• Continue making layers of sauce and tofu-ziti mixture, ending with sauce.
• Top with grated cheese.
• Cover and bake 30 minutes.

AUTHENTIC BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• SAUCE.
• Remove the sausage casings and crumble the sausage.
• Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to a pan, and brown the sausage.
• Puree the tomatoes in a blender (not too much).
• Add onions and garlic to now-browned sausage. Cook for a few more minutes until transparent.
• Add your tomato puree to the sausage.
• Add thyme and basil to sauce.
• Add some salt and pepper to taste.
• Add a generous pinch of the pepper flakes.
• Stir this up, heat to near-boil, then let it simmer covered on low for 15 minutes.
• BUILDING THE DISH.
• Boil your ziti pasta to not quite al-dente. Don't overboil, pasta will soften while baking.
• Cut the mozarella, half of it into 1/2 inch cubes, the other half in as thin of slices as you can manage.
• Remove the herb sprigs from the sauce and discard.
• Add the can of tomato paste to your sauce to thicken it up and give it a lively red color and more intense flavor.
• Add the pasta, your sauce, the cubed mozarella and half the parmesan in a baking dish.
• Top with the sliced mozarella and the remainder of the parmesan.
• Bake for about 30 minutes until golden.