Baked Ziti

Last weekend, one of my roommates asked how to make lasagna, which consequently made me start craving lasagna. I actually prefer baked ziti over lasagna; the only real difference between the two is the shape of the pasta and the ordered assembly (and, technically speaking, baked ziti is in a more entropically favorable state..and if I'm being technical, I should appease my father, and note that I didn't actually make baked ziti, but rather baked penne). This is scaled down from my SnoDrift recipe...this makes about 8 servings as opposed to 80.

I made a sauce similar to the Pork Ragu I previously posted. This sauce works out well with or without meat, I chose to use about a pound of ground pork this time...Mmmm pork.



Baked ziti isn't very photogenic, but it sure is tasty.

Ingredients:

• approximately 1 pound of ground pork, beef, veal, and/or lamb or an equivalent amount of Italian sausage (optional)
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 carrot, or about 5 baby carrots, finely diced
• 1 small yellow squash or zucchini, finely diced
• 1/4 cup of diced bell pepper
• 1/2 cup of diced mushrooms
• 28 oz of crushed tomatoes (1 large can)
• 1/4 of Red wine
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup parmesan/romano cheese
• 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
  
• 1.5-2 cups of ricotta cheese
• basil, oregano, thyme, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, fennel seeds
• 1 lb of ziti (or penne, dad)

Start by browning the meat over medium heat. To this add garlic and onion, carrots, mushrooms, and bell pepper. Season with crushed red pepper, a few dashes of basil and oregano, and about 1/3 teaspoon of fennel seeds (if you're using Italian sausage, you probably won't need this).

Once the carrots soften up, add the finely diced summer squash and a few grinds of black pepper. To avoid having the squash turn to mush, I only cook saute them for about as much time as it takes me to open the can of crushed tomatoes. Next, add about half the tomatoes to the mix, a few more dashes of basil and oregano, and let it heat. After the tomatoes have warmed, add the rest of the tomatoes, red wine, balsamic vinegar, and the parmesan/romano cheese, stirring to combine. Let the sauce simmer for about half an hour. Salt to taste.

Mix about a tablespoon or so of basil and oregano into the ricotta cheese (for a simple variation, add chopped spinach). Once the pasta is cooked, combine the ricotta and tomato sauce...place in a baking dish, top with mozzarella. Bake at 375 until the top starts to get a little crispy (about 20 minutes).