Baked Ziti
This dish has it all - great taste and easy preparation. Leftover ziti with sauce is combined with a little mozzarella and ricotta in a baking dish. Leftovers are often better than the original because the flavors have more time to meld. This dish has the added benefit of a tasty, crispy top. Originally served as part of: Baked Ziti and Potato Croquettes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound leftover ziti pasta
- 3 cups leftover tomato sauce
- 1 1/4 cups ricotta
- 1 tablespoon Pecorino romano cheese (Locatelli) (grated)
- 1/2 cup mozzarella (grated)
Instructions
We pre heat the oven to 375 degrees.
We take the leftover ziti out of the fridge, it is already in an 8-inch square glass baking dish and it was tossed with a little sauce last night to prevent it from sticking together. We stir in about 1 1/2 cups of sauce and most of the ricotta. We spread the remaining ricotta, Locatelli, and mozzarella on top of the ziti. We cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, the sauce is bubbling. We uncover and continue baking for another 25 minutes. We want the top to get crispy and slightly browned. We take the dish out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before serving while we heat the remaining sauce in the microwave.
Ingredients
- ½ lb leftover ziti (in an 8-inch square dish)
- 3 cups leftover tomato sauce (divided)
- 1¼ cups ricotta
- 1 tbsp Pecorino Romano (Locatelli) (grated)
- ½ cup mozzarella (grated)
Instructions
What's a kid job?
A Kid job is a step kids can help with, with a grown-up nearby, not one they do on their own. Every kid is different, so go by what your child can do rather than by age. Roughly:
- Little ones (about 2 to 4) can stir, pour in ingredients a grown-up has measured, tear lettuce, wash vegetables and sprinkle toppings.
- Older kids (about 5 to 8) can also measure and level, crack eggs, whisk, roll and cut out dough, and put things together.
- Bigger kids can read the recipe aloud, keep track of the timer, and take on more of the cooking as they're ready.
Steps with a knife, microplane, skewers, stove, oven, grill or hot oil, or with raw meat, poultry or seafood, are marked Grown-up. Kids can still watch those, from a safe distance.
Grown-up
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Kid job
Stir about 1½ cups of sauce and most of the ricotta into the ziti. Spread the rest of the ricotta, the Romano and the mozzarella on top.
Grown-up
Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, until bubbling. Uncover and bake 25 minutes more, until the top is crisp and browned. Rest a few minutes while you heat the rest of the sauce to serve alongside.