Baked Ziti

By ninebirch

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes
• 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) basil-and-oregano diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 box (16 ounces) ziti
• 1 bag (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 40mins
Adapted from familycircle.com

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oven to 375°. Coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Sauce. Heat oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Stir in whole tomatoes and their juice, breaking tomatoes apart with your hands or a wooden spoon. Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in diced tomatoes and basil.

Ziti and Cheese. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling. Add ziti; boil 10 minutes, stirring. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add half the sauce to bowl with ziti. Stir to coat. Pour ziti mixture into prepared dish. Top with remaining sauce and then sprinkle with the cheeses.

Bake at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes.

Sausage variation (10 Servings):
Sauce. Crumble 1 pound sweet Italian sausage in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook 8 minutes, or until no longer pink. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon. Add onion to pot; cook 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Stir in whole tomatoes and their juice, breaking tomatoes apart with a wooden spoon. Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in sausage, diced tomatoes and basil. Continue with recipe, step 4.