The Husband and I have been watching The Sopranos lately. Aside from being a brilliant show, each episode has one thing in common – amazing food. I decided to channel my inner Carmela Soprano and try my hand at a Baked Ziti recipe.
Carol’s Recipe for Baked Ziti from All Recipes was delicious. Super simple and full of basic ingredients, I’m sure that Carmela Soprano would shake her head in disappointment, but we loved it and have moved this recipe to my “Favorites” list. I halved the recipe and served with sauteed spinach and a ciabatta roll.
Here’s Carol’s recipe with my notes:
INGREDIENTS:
1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta (our little grocery store didn’t have ziti so we used a penne style pasta)
1 egg, lightly beaten (I used a whole egg even though I halved the recipe)
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (28 ounce) jar meatless spaghetti sauce, divided (I used Newman’s Own Marinara)
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
2. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Stir in ziti pasta and return to a boil. Cook pasta, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes; drain.
3. Combine egg, ricotta cheese, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Spread 1/3 the spaghetti sauce in prepared baking dish. Top with 1/2 the pasta, 1/2 the ricotta mixture, 1/3 the spaghetti sauce, 1/2 the mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 the Parmesan cheese; repeat layers. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce and Parmesan cheese; cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
4. Bake in preheated oven until heated through, 45 to 50 minutes. I removed the aluminum foil halfway through the baking process so the cheese would get golden brown on top.
Does your television influence the food you eat?
