L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano I t a l i a n H e r i t a g e M o n t h h a s j u s t passed, but we'd like to remain focused on Italian-American f o o d f o r o n e m o r e w e e k , instead of giving you a tradi- tional Old-Italy recipe as we usually do. T o d a y , w e h a v e a r e a l crowd-pleaser: baked ziti. True comfort food, a warm- ing dish perfect for these increasingly chilly autumn evenings. A kind of simplified south- ern-style lasagna, baked ziti has many of the same ele- ments: pasta, tomato sauce and three kinds of cheese, parmesan, ricotta and moz- zarella. To those core ingredi- ents, you can add sausage, and indeed, some versions of this dish really lean into the m e a t . N o t m i n e , t h o u g h . A l t h o u g h I d o s o m e t i m e s throw bits of sausage into my baked ziti for a little extra savor, for me the dish is real- ly all about the tomato sauce and lots of cheese. My per- sonal touch, taken from my g r a n d m o t h e r ' s l a s a g n a r e c i p e , i s a r i c o t t a c r e a m made with egg, grated parmi- giano reggiano and parsley, rather than straight ricotta, which makes it extra special. E i t h e r w a y , b a k e d z i t i offers a similar taste—and all t h e c o m f o r t — o f a c l a s s i c lasagna with a fraction of the effort. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the Fall Ital- ian-American style! Ingredients S e r v e s 4 - 6 , o r m o r e , depending on appetites: 500g (1 lb) ziti (or other short pasta) 1 large batch of marinara sauce, made with one large can (800g/26 oz) of toma- toes 1 ball of mozzarella (about 250g/8oz), cut into cubes For the ricotta cream: 250g (8 oz) ricotta cheese (one small container) 2-3 eggs 100g (3-1/2 oz) freshly grated parmigiano reggiano A couple of sprigs of fresh parsley, finely minced Salt and pepper FRANK FARIELLO spoon to soften it, then mix in the egg, grated cheese, minced parsley and a pinch of salt and pepper, until you h a v e a s m o o t h u n i f o r m cream. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Cut the mozzarella into dice. I f u s i n g , f r y u p t h e sausages, then let them cool and cut them into dice. Just before you're ready to bake, cook the ziti in well- salted water until they are just slightly underdone, per- haps a minute less than indi- cated on the package. Assembling the dish When the pasta is done, transfer it to a large mixing b o w l a n d d r e s s i t w i t h enough marinara sauce to coat it lightly. Lay down a layer of the pasta in a well-greased bak- ing dish. Ladle over a bit more of the sauce, sprinkle with grated parmigiano reg- giano, then add dollops of the ricotta cream here and there, along with the moz- zarella cubes and, if using, the bits of sausage. Repeat until you've used up the ingredients. For the final layer, lay on the pasta first, slather over a generous ladling of the sauce, then sprinkle with more grated parmigiano reggiano and mozzarella cubes. Drizzle with olive oil. Baking and serving B a k e i n a h o t (200C/400F) oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until the dish is bubbly hot and nicely browned on top. Let your baked ziti settle for 10 minutes or so before serving. Accompany if you l i k e w i t h a n y r e m a i n i n g s a u c e a n d m o r e g r a t e d cheese. Notes The classic pasta for baked ziti is, of course, ziti. It's in the name, after all. But ziti is sometimes hard to find. You c o u l d s u b s t i t u t e a n o t h e r s h o r t t u b u l a r p a s t a l i k e p e n n e , w h i c h i s a c t u a l l y rather similar, especially if you can find penne lisce (the kind without ribbing) aka mostaccioli. Rigatoni would also work beautifully. Or, casting your net a bit further, you could also go for a non- tubular shape like conchiglie (shells) or even elbows. The mouthfeel will, of course, be quite different but it'll be equally delicious. A l t h o u g h b a k e d z i t i involves several steps, it's not at all hard if you just take each step one at a time. The main tricky bit, if you want to call it that—common to all baked pasta dishes—is the risk that the dish dries out in the oven as the pasta absorbs t h e s a u c e a n d t h e s a u c e reduces further. No worries, though. The solution is quite straightfor- ward: just make a big batch of sauce, keep it quite loose, and use it liberally. Also, make sure you don't leave the dish in the oven too long. You should take it out while the pasta is still quite "saucy" as it will continue to absorb the sauce as it settles. Thirty minutes in the oven should be a kind of maximum. But if, despite all precautions, you find the pasta is still drier than you'd like, that's where serving extra sauce at the table comes in handy. So be s u r e t o m a k e m o r e s a u c e than you think you'll need. If you have any left, you can always save it for another meal. Frank is a lawyer with a true passion for cooking and sharing food with the people he loves. He inherited his love for Italian cuisine from h i s g r a n d m o t h e r , n o n n a Angelina, to whom he dedi- c a t e d h i s c u l i n a r y b l o g , M e m o r i e d i A n g e l i n a : www.memoriediangelina.co m. A plate of baked ziti, a quintessential Italian-American dish (Photo: Ezumeimages/Dreamstime) LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES Baked ziti, true comfort food Optional: 2-3 links of sweet Italian sausage, fried and cut into dice For the baking: More grated parmigiano- reggiano to taste Olive oil for greasing the baking dish and drizzling on top of the pasta Directions Prepping the ingredients P r e p a r e t h e m a r i n a r a sauce, making sure to be gen- erous with the olive oil and that the sauce remains quite loose, as it will continue to reduce in the oven. Prepare the ricotta cream: in a large mixing bowl, stir the ricotta with a wooden

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