The casserole that we made is meatless, however, there are some great variation on this recipe that quickly elevate the dish. This can happen because of the shape and cut of the ziti, not so much with penne. One of the keys to this dish is the resting period where the sauce and the cheese find their way inside the hollows of the ziti. It’s smaller shape and the hollow tubes hold our cheese and tomato sauce. Ziti: Ziti is the obvious choice for this dish.If I were making a meat sauce for the baked ziti, I would consider rigatoni. Rigatoni is a good pasta selection in casseroles that have thick heavy meat-based sauces. The pasta has tiny ridges that run along the outside of the tube that help sauces cling to the exterior of the pasta. Rigatoni is larger and comes in a few varieties of size. Rigatoni: Rigatoni is another tubular shaped pasta.It can be cooked ahead of time, firm and slightly chewy, and then reheated in a dish easily at the last minute.
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It is the favorite of chefs for the appearance and the ability to hold up in dishes. Penne: Penne pasta is tubular shaped pasta that have the ends of the pasta cut on a diagonal.So if you prefer penne, or even rigatoni, then certainly go for it! However, ziti and penne pasta are very similar and interchangeable in this recipe. Is a ziti pasta the same as penne pasta? The recipe isn’t called baked penne. It’s going to give our baked ziti some visual cheese pulls that everyone seems to enjoy. The bland mozzarella is a wonderful fresh melting cheese. Good old-fashioned mozzarella keeps our Italian casserole cheesy. With tones of fruit and nuttiness, Parmesan takes this side dish from average to amazing. The Parmesan brings a deeper more complex flavor to the cheese sauce. In addition, grated Parmesan and mozzarella both are important ingredients. The ricotta is sweet, soft and brings the creaminess to the dish. Cheeseįor this, easy baked ziti recipe, we’ll use classic fresh ricotta cheese as a base for our cheese sauce. I’ll add a pinch of sugar and a splash of balsamic vinegar to really make the flavor pop. You certainly could use fresh tomatoes that have been peeled, cooked and diced in this recipe. We like using canned diced tomatoes in the pasta sauce because they bring a layer of texture and taste to the sauce. The second ingredient for our baked ziti is canned tomatoes. That’s why we like to use marinara sauce for our version of Jimmy’s The Caterer’s famous fire hall ziti.
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The common factor should be a robust flavorful sauce that has garlic and basil. Starting with plain canned tomatoes sauce, it is simply a matter of adding olive oil, garlic, basil and pepper to create an Italian style baked ziti tomato sauce. You can also find jarred pasta sauce that can easily be substituted in this recipe. The tomato sauce in baked ziti can be easily made at home.
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Italian Style Tomato Sauceįirst the sauce. In our recipe for quick recipe we use only tomato sauce and cheese, preferring to serve meat sauce or Italian sausages on the side for the guest to choose for themselves. For vegetarians this easy to make dish can also be served meatless. Variations of baked ziti casserole can include ground beef and Italian sausage. Baked Ziti with Ricotta is a layered casserole consisting of ziti pasta, ricotta cheese and tomato sauce with garlic and basil.