Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti is a classic of Italian cuisine, especially in the south, a hearty and rich dish that is well suited for special occasions or Sunday lunches. Traditionally, Ziti are broken before being cooked and are enriched with ragù, mozzarella, and often little meatball pellets. Here is a version of the recipe:

Ingredients

• 500 g of ziti
• 500 g of ground meat (beef or beef and pork mix)
• 1 onion
• 300 g of tomato puree
• 200 g of peas (optional)
• 300 g of mozzarella
• 100 g of grated Parmesan cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Basil
• 2 eggs (for the meatballs, optional)

Preparation

1. Start by preparing the ragù. Sauté the finely chopped onion in a bit of extra virgin olive oil, then add the ground meat and let it brown. Add the tomato puree, adjust salt and pepper, and possibly peas. Simmer for about two hours.
2. If you wish to add little meatballs to your dish, mix the ground meat with eggs, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and form small balls. Cook the meatballs in a pan with a bit of oil until they are browned, then add them to the ragù.
3. Boil the Ziti in plenty of salted water, draining them very al dente, as they will finish cooking in the oven.
4. In a baking dish, start layering the Ziti with the ragù, cut mozzarella into cubes, and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Continue until all ingredients are used.
5. Bake the Ziti at 180 °C for about 20-30 minutes, until the surface is golden brown.
6. Let the Baked Ziti rest for a few minutes before serving.

Fun Fact

In some versions of this dish, slices of hard-boiled eggs are added to the layers or salted ricotta is used alternatively or in addition to Parmesan. Each family has their variant and secret to make this dish unique and irresistible.