Baked Ziti With Eggplant And Ricotta Cheese Recipes

BAKED ZITI WITH EGGPLANT AND RICOTTA CHEESE

Steps:

• Place eggplant cubes in colander, sprinkle generously with salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse and drain thoroughly.
• Cook ziti in large amounts of boiling salted water until tender; drain. Add butter and toss to coat.
• In large skillet, cook eggplant, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in tomatoes and tomato paste, 1/2 tsp salt, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese.
• In small bowl, blend ricotta cheese, egg and remaining 1/2 tsp salt.
• In shallow three quart (3mL) casserole, layer half each: cooked pasta, tomato mixture, ricotta cheese mixture and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until cheese melts.

BAKED ZITI WITH EGGPLANT, BASIL AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain well and return to the warm pan.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and when it is hot, but not smoking, cook the eggplant slices in batches for 2 minutes on each side until golden. Remove and place on paper towels. Repeat to cook all of the eggplant. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan, add the onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomatoes, basil, red wine, 1 cup of water, sea salt and black pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, until you have a thickened sauce. Stir in the eggplant then add to the pasta and stir well.
• Put the mixture in a large baking dish. Spoon the ricotta on top, sprinkle over the pecorino and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden and crispy around the edges.
• Enjoy!

BAKED ZITI WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Line a sheet tray with foil then brush the foil generously with olive oil.
• Brush a 9X13 inch casserole dish bottom and sides with olive oil and set aside.
• If using Japanese eggplant, trim ends, leave skin on then cut into one-inch chunks and place into a bowl. If using regular eggplant, trim and peel and then cut into chunks. (Try to avoid cooking a really large regular eggplant as they will require salting the cubes and sitting for an hour to remove bitterness.)
• Add ½ cup of the olive oil, 1 teaspoon of the salt and a half teaspoon of pepper to the bowl with the eggplant and toss to coat. Pour out onto the prepared sheet tray and bake for 30 minutes, tossing them with a spatula half way through.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil.
• While eggplant is cooking, in a large skillet, add remaining olive oil and over medium heat, add onions, garlic and the pepper flakes and cook for three minutes.
• Add the cut-up tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the basil, the mint, parsley, sugar, remaining salt, remaining pepper and bring to a slow simmer and cook until the pasta is ready on the next step.
• Add salt to the boiling water and add the ziti and cook short of fully cooked. The pasta needs to be a little chewy as it will cook further in the oven. Save three cups of the pasta water and drain the ziti.
• Place the drained ziti back in the pan and hold.
• Thin the sauce down with a cup or more of the pasta water, taste and add more salt and pepper as needed, then pour over the cooked ziti and stir. Add more pasta water as needed to thin down if too thick.
• Stir in all of the ricotta cheese and the remaining 4 tablespoons of the fresh basil.
• Remove the roasted eggplant from the oven and add to the pasta and sauce and gently stir.
• Pour this mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
• Top with the shredded provolone and Parmesan cheese and bake for 30 minutes. The top should get browned and crusty and the center soft and creamy with the pasta perfectly cooked.
• Serve immediately.

ZITI AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the eggplant about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, pepper, and sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Mix the roasted red peppers into the skillet with the eggplant mixture. Continue cooking until eggplant is the consistency of the rest of the sauce.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place ziti pasta in the pot, cook 9 to 11 minutes, until al dente, and drain. Serve the eggplant and tomato sauce over the cooked ziti.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Open pitas and evenly spread insides with butter. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and season with paprika, salt and pepper. I like to make a light sprinkling of paprika across each piece. Heat pitas in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Use to scoop up eggplant sauce, or eat separately.

BAKED ZITI II

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse.
• In a medium bowl, mix ziti, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg and 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spoon in ziti mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce, followed by Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes; let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

DELICIOUSLY CHEESY BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
• Cook ziti according to package directions; drain; set aside.
• Mix ricotta, egg, parsley, 1-1/2 cups of the mozarella cheese, and parmesan cheese in a large bowl.
• Mix cooked sausage and pasta in with ricotta mixture.
• Mix in 3/4 jar of sauce.
• Transfer mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish.
• Top with the rest of the sauce and mozarella cheese.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
• To freeze: Cover dish with foil and freeze. When frozen you can pop it out of the container and put in a freezer bag if desired.
• To heat: Thaw. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-15 minutes more.