Easy Ziti Al Forno

Submitted by DrGaellon

"A simple baked pasta with ricotta, sausage and mozzarella. Feel free to use a homemade marinara sauce if you have it; you'll need about 1½ qts."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 12-16

ingredients

• 1 1 lb penne or 1 lb penne rigate
• 1 lb mild Italian sausage or 1 lb hot Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (26 ounce) jars tomato sauce (marinara style)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 pinch fennel seed, crushed fine or ground
• 12 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt, to taste
• ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. In same skillet, saute onion until soft and translucent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add marinara, 1½ tsp basil, 1½ tsp oregano, fennel, salt and pepper and heat through.
4. In a bowl, blend ricotta with egg, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano, salt and pepper.
5. Spread bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with sauce. Layer ½ of the ziti, ½ the sausage, ½ of the ricotta, and one-third of the mozzarella. Spoon half of the sauce over top. Repeat layers. Reserve the last one-third of the mozzarella.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Top with remaining mozzarella and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.