Baked Ziti

By susanwadle

This can be fancied up in a variety of ways. Mushrooms and other vegetables, like diced carrots or strips of bell pepper, are also fine additions. Some good ricotta stirred into the sauce is another refinement.

Ingredients

• 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, optional
• 1 28-ounce can 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, optional

Preparation

Step 1

Method
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.