Baked Ziti

Ingredients

• 2 28oz cans of San Marzano whole tomatoes (look for “DOP” on the can”
• 2 tbsp high quality tomato paste
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1lb. box of ziti pasta
• 1 32oz bag of shredded mozzarella cheese or 4 containers of 8oz Burrata balls
• Optional: 1 15oz container of ricotta cheese
• Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• Handful of chopped basil
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Handful of chopped parsley

Method

1. Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees
2. In a large bowl, pour in the 2 cans of whole tomatoes and crush with your hands, set aside
3. In a wide saucepan with room for the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil until it just sizzles
4. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Don’t let the garlic burn
5. Add the tomato paste and stir with the olive until the tomato paste starts to brown
6. Add water and the crushed tomatoes to the pan and stir briskly to mix with the garlic infused olive oil
7. Bring to a boil, mix thoroughly and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. It is important that the tomatoes have time to cook so as not to be raw
8. Season with salt and black pepper to taste
9. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add the chopped basil and mix in thoroughly
10. While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil
11. Add the pasta and cook according to directions and then drain into a colander
12. Pour the pasta back into the pasta pot and, using a spatula, pour all the sauce into and mix the sauce and pasta thoroughly
13. Optional: if using ricotta cheese, empty the container into the past pot and using a spatula, mix thoroughly
14. Pour in some olive oil and using a small paper towel, oil a large 13” x 9” baking pan
15. Empty the pasta and sauce mixture into the baking pan using a spatula. Make sure to capture all the sauce
16. Cover the pasta and sauce mixture with the shredded mozzarella cheese. If using burrata cheese, place the balls on a plate and roughly chop them up with a medium sized knife into small pieces and then place those over the pasta and sauce mixture
17. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until the sauce is bubble and the cheese is browned. It is important to keep an eye on the baking so that the cheese does no burn
18. Remove and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes so that the baked ziti has time to set up4
19. Cut a portion and place on a plate and serve with the chopped parsley as a garnish