My daughters made this for a family dinner, and it is the kind of recipe you can easily make for a crowd. They used Rao’s marinara sauce, but if you’re a purist such as me, enclosed you will find a recipe for homemade marinara sauce.
J. Kenji-Lopez suggests soaking the pasta rather than boiling it. “It delivers perfectly al dente baked pasta without the need to use an extra pot or wait for it to boil.
A mixture of a basic marinara sauce with heavy cream and ricotta cheese keeps the pasta moist and flavorful.
Diced cubes of mozzarella form distinct pockets of melted cheese for more textural contrast.”
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454g) ziti, penne, or other thick tubular pasta
- 4 cups (950ml) homemade or high-quality store-bought red sauce (such as Rao’s), divided
- 12 ounces (340g) whole-milk high-quality ricotta cheese
- 3 ounces (85g) Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated and divided (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh basil, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound (454g) whole-milk mozzarella cheese, cut into rough 1/4-inch cubes and divided
- Cooking spray or oil
Directions
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place ziti in a large bowl and cover with hot salted water by 3 or 4 inches. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, stirring after the first 5 minutes to prevent sticking. Drain.
- Pour 3 cups of the red sauce into a large pot; add ricotta, half of the Parmigiano, eggs, cream, and half of the parsley and basil, and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the soaked ziti along with half of the mozzarella cheese cubes and stir until well combined. Transfer to an ungreased 9- by 13-inch baking dish and top with the remaining 1 cup red sauce and mozzarella.
- Lightly grease aluminum foil with cooking spray or oil. Cover the baking dish tightly with the sprayed aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake until the cheese begins to brown, about 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano, then let cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and basil and serve.
Notes: Look for a ricotta cheese that contains nothing but milk, salt, and starter culture or acid. Avoid those with gums and stabilizers. Our favorite national store-bought brand is Calabro.
FYI: We finished every last bit!!!
RED SAUCE—tomato sauce flavored with garlic, oregano, and olive oil.
J. Kenji-LOpez: “Marcella Hazan’s recipe for tomato sauce may deliver the most culinary bang for your buck that you’ll ever see. It’s so simple it doesn’t even need a full recipe—just simmer a 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes with five tablespoons of unsalted butter and an onion split in half, crushing the tomatoes against the sides of the pot with a spoon—but the flavor you end up with is rich, fresh, and perfectly balanced. I like to substitute extra-virgin olive oil for half of the butter to bring some extra complexity into the mix.” Then add some sautéed garlic and oregano.
My Picky Mother 