Italian Sausage Baked Ziti
This recipe from Allrecipes.com is a family favorite, with variations made by my son. Although mine may not be as perfect, we enjoy comparing our different approaches to this classic dish.
This recipe from Allrecipes.com is a family favorite, with variations made by my son. Although mine may not be as perfect, we enjoy comparing our different approaches to this classic dish.
- Carbohydrate 56.8624986822491 g
- Cholesterol 132.728400373863 mg
- Fat 43.2196511598639 g
- Fiber 6.13566646178563 g
- Protein 35.3949812536826 g
- Saturated Fat 18.2250667431886 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (441g)
- Sodium 1875.80416695908 mg
- Sugar 50.7268322204634 g
- Trans Fat 2.71294036084494 g
- Calories 765 calories
Step-by-step
- Brown the meat and onion and then drain fat.
- Return the meat and onion back to the pan and add the spaghetti sauce.
- Simmer meat and sauce for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Layer ingredients in a square baking dish in the following order:
- Pour 1 cup of the sauce mixture on the bottom.
- Add half of the pasta, half of the provolone cheese slices, and half of the ricotta cheese (spreading ricotta) over the provolone cheese.
- Add half of the remaining sauce, then the remaining pasta and mozzarella and ricotta cheese.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the ricotta cheese, and top with parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes on a cookie sheet to prevent splatters in your oven.
- Serve with crusty bread and a salad, if desired.
Bubbling crimson edges of tomato sauce meet crisped, browned strands of mozzarella while soft pockets of ricotta hold their heat beneath a golden parmesan crust. Cooled pasta absorbs free moisture overnight. This chemical shift changes the interior texture entirely by day two. Stored in an airtight glass container for up to four days, the starches retrogradely recrystallize, yielding cleaner slices upon reheating.
The Physics of Day-Two Pasta
Cold resting solidifies melted fats and gels excess starches. Reheating single portions at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for twenty minutes restores structural integrity better than a microwave. Microwaves agitate water molecules too quickly, breaking the emulsion of the ricotta and separating grease from the melted cheeses.Avoiding Texture Failures
Undercooking the ziti by two minutes from the package instructions prevents mushiness during the secondary bake. Ziti absorbs liquid from the surrounding spaghetti sauce while in the oven. Boiling the pasta completely soft before layering leads to a disintegrating interior texture. Draining the browned pork sausage thoroughly prevents pool formation at the base of the baking dish.Balancing Acid and Fat
Heavy jars of commercial spaghetti sauce often lack bright acidity. Adding two tablespoons of red wine vinegar per jar balances the high fat content of the provolone and pork. Baking the dish on an ungreased aluminum cookie sheet catches rogue spills and promotes even heat transfer through ceramic or glass casserole walls.
