Baked Ziti With Hot Italian Sausage Fresh Mozzarella Recipes

BAKED ZITI WITH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the ziti according to the package directions for very al dente, about 7 minutes. (It will continue to cook in the oven so you want to undercook it just a bit.) Drain and add the pasta back to the pot. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F and set the oven rack in the middle position.
• Heat a large sauté pan (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage into the pan and cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned and just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked sausage to a plate. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan and set over low heat (if you don't have enough fat in the pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil). Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until soft but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, sugar and red pepper flakes and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
• Add the cream, ⅓ cup of the pecorino Romano, cooked sausage, and basil to the pan; stir until evenly combined. Carefully pour the contents of the sauté pan into the large pot with the pasta and gently stir to combine. Spoon half of the mixture into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the shredded mozzarella and half the remaining pecorino Romano. Spoon the remaining pasta mixture on top and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and pecorino Romano. Transfer to the oven and bake, uncovered, until the cheese has melted and browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with more basil and serve.
• Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The dish can be assembled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days in advance, or frozen for up to 3 months. (If frozen, defrost in the refrigerator overnight.) Whether refrigerated or frozen and defrosted, bake, covered tightly with aluminum foil, in a 425°F oven for 25 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is lightly browned and the pasta is hot throughout.

BAKED ZITI WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Cook sausage links according to package directions; drain, cut into ¼-inch slices.
• In a large bowl, combine sausage slices, pasta, pasta sauce, water, basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, pepper and mix well.
• Spoon mixture into a greased 9-in. x 13-in. x 2-in. baking dish.
• Arrange garlic bread slices on top of meat mixture.
• Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese.
• In a small bowl, dip tomato slices into olive oil.
• Place one slice of tomato on each piece of bread.
• Bake uncovered, at 400°F for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• Garnish with basil leaves. Serve.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and boil the pasta until al dente (tender but still slightly firm). Drain.
• Toss the cooked pasta with the quick tomato sauce, cubed mozzarella, half the Parmesan, all of the black pepper and crushed red pepper in a large bowl. Transfer the pasta to the prepared baking dish. Cover the top of the pasta with the sliced mozzarella and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake until lightly browned and hot, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and the herb sprigs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and season with pepper. Use now or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

SPEEDY BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, breaking up with the back of a spoon, until browned in places and cooked through, about 8 minutes.
• Stir in marinara sauce and 1 cup water. Season with salt and pepper; simmer 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook 12 ounces ziti or rigatoni in a pot of salted boiling water until al dente, about 2 minutes less than package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain. Add pasta, reserved pasta water, basil, and 3/4 cup chopped mozzarella to skillet; toss to combine. Season to taste.
• In a bowl, whisk together ricotta and heavy cream; season. Spoon mixture evenly over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup chopped mozzarella and Parmigiano. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until ziti is browned and bubbly and edges begin to crisp, about 20 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

BAKED ZITI WITH TOMATO, MOZZARELLA AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Lightly oil a large, shallow baking dish.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• In a large skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat.
• Add the onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic and crumbled sausage; saute until the sausage begins to brown.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• If the sausage renders a lot of fat, pour most of it off leaving a little to add flavor to the sauce.
• Add the red wine; boil until it is almost gone.
• Add the tomatoes with all of their juices and cook, uncovered, at a lively simmer for about 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken slightly.
• Add the marjoram or oregano and taste for seasoning.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix together ricotta, about half the grated pecorino, the nutmeg, and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente.
• Drain well and toss it with the ricotta mixture until well coated.
• Add the sausage and sauce and mix again.
• Add the mozzarella and toss gently.
• Pour everything into the baking dish and sprinkle the remaining Pecorino on top.
• Bake uncovered until lightly browned and bubbling, about 20 minutes.
• Serve right away.

BAKED ZITI WITH HOT ITALIAN SAUSAGE & FRESH MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook ziti until it is al dente (so that when you bake it in the oven it will cook the rest of the way). Rinse in cold water, drain and pour into a 7"x11" glass baking dish.
• Meanwhile, begin cooking sausage.
• Puree San Marzano tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes and salt in a blender until smooth.
• When sausage is done, remove from pan and add 1/2 cup wine to reserved drippings from sausage and bring to a simmer scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan and stirring with wine. While wine is simmering, slice sausage at a slight diagonal about 1/2" thick.
• Add pureed sauce and sliced sausage to wine and stir. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile thinly slice and chop the fresh mozarella balls (some people recommend freezing for a 5 minutes or so to help with slicing, but I never do).
• When sauce is done simmering, pour everything over pasta. Sprinkle 1 cup of the fresh mozzarella throughout (fresh makes all the difference!) and sprinkle the rest on top. Top with a few shakes of crushed red pepper.
• Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until you see it getting a little bubbly. You can even cook it longer it you want it to get a little crisp on top, not too crisp as it will get dry.
• Serve with a bottle of wine and some nice Italian music.

THREE-CHEESE BAKED ZITI WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a 4-quart rectangular baking dish with nonstick spray. Combine mozzarella and Italian blend cheeses in a bowl and place in the refrigerator.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain.
• At the same time, heat 3 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage and break up into morsels. Sprinkle baking soda onto sausage, then add onion and garlic. Cook and stir, continuing to break up any clumps as it cooks, until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour off and discard any grease.
• Add pasta sauce, olives, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, anchovy paste, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Add up to 3 tablespoons more oil if desired, and continue stirring until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in ziti.
• Spread 1/2 of the sauced ziti into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle 1/2 of the shredded cheese mixture evenly on top. Spoon or ladle the rest of the ziti evenly on top without disturbing the layers underneath; it's okay to have some ziti partially exposed as they will brown handsomely and deliciously as they bake. Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese mixture on top and sprinkle Parmesan across the surface.
• Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven until bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

BAKED ZITI WITH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the ziti, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
• While pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, and cook and stir until brown, about 10 minutes. Drain sausage and set aside.
• Stir together the ricotta, egg, onion, garlic, and oregano in a large bowl until well combined. Stir in the drained pasta, the drained sausage, salt, pepper, and 1/2 jar of the spaghetti sauce; mix well.
• In the prepared baking dish, cover the bottom with 1/3 jar of spaghetti sauce. Layer 1/2 of the pasta mixture, 1/3 jar of spaghetti sauce, and 1/2 of the shredded cheese. Then layer the remaining 1/2 of the pasta, 1/3 of the sauce, and 1/2 of the cheese. Sprinkle with basil. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until heated through, about 20 minutes. Uncover; return to the oven and bake until cheese is melted, 5 to 10 more minutes.

BAKED ZITI WITH SAUSAGE AND BECHAMEL

Steps:

• Transfer whole peeled tomatoes (with their juices) to a large bowl and squeeze with your hands to break up; set aside. Heat oil in a pot over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, breaking up with the back of a spoon, until browned in places and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add reserved crushed tomatoes to pot along with can of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup water (pour water into sauce can and swirl to catch any left inside). Season generously with salt and pepper; let simmer until flavors meld, skimming fat as needed, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F. Cook pasta in a pot of salted boiling water about 5 minutes less than package instructions (so it still has some bite in the center and won't overcook in the oven). Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain and rinse noodles under cool water to stop cooking.
• In now-empty pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until combined and lightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until consistency is like slightly thickened cream, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with salt, nutmeg, and 1/3 cup Parmigiano. Press plastic wrap directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming.
• In a large bowl, toss pasta with 3 cups tomato sauce, 1/2 cup Parmigiano, 1/2 cup reserved pasta water (or up to 1 cup, if sauce is very thick), and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spread half of bechamel in the bottom of a 3-to-3 1/2-quart baking dish. Top with half of pasta mixture, 1 cup tomato sauce, half of mozzarella, and 1/2 cup Parmigiano. Layer with remaining pasta and 1 cup tomato sauce.
• Spoon the last of the bechamel evenly on top, followed by remaining mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmigiano; top with a few spoons of tomato sauce. Sprinkle with more Parmigiano. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment (to catch spills).
• Bake, uncovered, until browned in places and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes, top with more basil leaves, and serve.