Baked Ziti
Equipment
- Approx 9*13 baking dish or casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey or meat of your choice, lean preferably or Italian sausage works well too
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and black pepper as needed
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, about 1 teaspoon heaped
- 1 medium carrot finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
- 1 medium eggplant, about 3 cups, diced into small cubes
- 1 28 oz can whole tomato, crushed or your favorite Marinara sauce
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning or oregano
- 1 tsp chili flakes use less for milder flavor
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed optional
- 1 lb ziti pasta
- 3 cups freshly grated mozzarella cheese about 8-10 oz
- 4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- basil or parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cook the pasta al dente** in salted water cording to the package instructions but a minute or so less.(The pasta will finish cooking in the oven).
- In a large sauce pan, warm a little olive oil. Add the onions, eggplant, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook until soft and translucent. Add the ground meat and continue sautéing until the meat is browned.
- Add the crushed tomato sauce, salt if needed, Italian seasoning, chili flakes, crushed fennel seeds, stir well until combined.
- Cook for 6-8 minutes so all the veggies and meat is cooked and the sauce looks amazing.
- Drain the pasta well. Add the pasta and half the shredded mozzarella cheese into the pot with the sauce. Stir to combine well evenly.
- Transfer the pasta+ sauce mixture to a 9*13 baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining fresh mozzarella on the top of the pasta.
- Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 5 minutes until the cheese is lightly golden in places and bubbling.
- Once clone, sprinkle with parm and serve garnished with basil and parm tableside.
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