The Lunch Lady
Baked ziti
Beef sauce, ricotta folded through the pasta and mozzarella browned on top. This is my baked ziti, with roasted green beans alongside.
Published · Updated
- Servings
- 6 generous portions
- Total time
- About 2 hours 40 minutes, including resting
Give the sauce a little time
Beef sauce, creamy pasta and browned mozzarella. I really think this one tastes best when you make the sauce the day before. That extra time lets the flavors come together. If you're making it all today, no big deal. It's still going to taste good.
Either way, finish the sauce the day you're serving it. Warm it up, taste it and give it a little fresh lemon. A hit of extra virgin olive oil and some salt if it needs it. Add a little, then taste again.
Taste, taste, taste
On Next Level Chef, I'd have tasting spoons all over my station. You've got 30 minutes to cook a complete dish, and Gordon Ramsay and company are going to eat it. There's no recipe in front of you. You're going off intuition and experience, and tasting is how you know where you stand.
Keep five to ten clean spoons in a cup by your stove. Grab a fresh one each time. It makes it easy to taste as you go, especially when you're building a sauce.
Give the pasta some attention, too
I use GOODLES penne, usually bought in a bulk pack on Amazon. I like the protein and fiber it brings, and it holds up nicely in this dish. Regular penne, ziti or rigatoni work too.
Salt your pasta water. A tiny pinch won't do much in a big pot. Taste a cooled spoonful before the pasta goes in. It should taste clearly salted, without being harsh. This is your chance to season the pasta while it cooks.
Set the timer a few minutes short of the box directions, then taste a noodle. You're looking for a slight chew, especially here, because it still has time in the oven. Drain it as soon as it's there. Nobody wants soggy noodles. Kids will definitely let you know.
Watch it in the kitchen
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Home recipe
Baked ziti
The Lunch Lady · Jared Veldheer
- Servings
- 6 generous portions
- Prep time
- About 30 minutes
- Cook time
- About 2 hours
- Total time
- About 2 hours 40 minutes, including resting
Equipment: Deep 9×13-inch baking dish, large pot, food processor or immersion blender.
Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go.
Beef sauce
Pasta and cheese
Have a little olive oil ready for tossing the drained pasta.
Alongside
Instructions
Make the beef sauce
- Brown the beef in two batches over medium-high heat. Add the first ½ tsp salt. Leave the beef in contact with the pot long enough to take on color.
- Lift the beef into a food processor, leaving the fat in the pot. Pulse to a fine crumble. Set aside a little of the fat for the green beans.
- Cook the onion in the fat until soft. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the tomato paste, anchovy paste and Worcestershire. Stir until the tomato paste darkens.
- Return the beef. Break up the tomatoes briefly with an immersion blender. Add them to the pot with the remaining salt, oregano, basil, pepper and bay leaf.
- Simmer gently for at least an hour, stirring and tasting along the way. Remove the bay leaf. Blend about one-third of the sauce, then stir it back through.
- On the day you're serving it, taste the warm sauce. Start with a small squeeze of fresh lemon, then add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and salt if needed. Taste again and adjust a little at a time before assembling.
Assemble and bake
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Taste a cooled spoonful before adding the pasta; it should taste clearly salted, without being harsh. Add the pasta and set a timer two to three minutes short of the package directions. Taste a noodle and drain as soon as it's al dente, with a slight chew. If it's still hard, cook a little longer and check again. Toss with a little olive oil.
- Mix the ricotta, egg, parmesan, parsley and pepper. Fold through the pasta.
- Put the pasta in the baking dish, cover with sauce and finish with mozzarella. Use a deep dish. If the pasta comes right up to the rim, put the extra in a smaller baking dish.
- Cover with foil and bake about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the foil for the last third of the bake. Bake until the center reaches 165°F and the cheese is melted and browned in spots. Rest 10 minutes.
- For the beans, heat the oven to 425°F. Toss the beans with enough reserved fat to coat, plus salt. Roast in one layer about 12 to 15 minutes, until blistered and tender to your liking. Taste and season while hot. Serve with grapes.
Recipe notes
- I prefer making the sauce the day before, but same-day works well. If making it ahead, refrigerate it overnight, lift off any firm fat you want for the beans, and warm it before assembling. Add the fresh lemon, olive oil and final salt adjustment the day you serve it.
- GOODLES and regular pasta can have different cooking times. Use the package as a starting point and taste early. The pasta will keep cooking in the oven.