J's Romantic Baked Ziti

I wish I had a picture for this, but sadly we ate it all before I decided I would post this.

J. made this for me a few years ago for Valentine's Day. I requested it this year because I came across the recipe again. That and this dish is A-mazing. It takes a little bit of time to prepare, but it is well worth it. This and J's Mexican casserole are two things I always request him to make for dinner because they are so darn tasty.

I think J. originally found this recipe at http://www.italianfoodforever.com/ but I don't have that copy anymore. I just have my dirty recipe card. :) Does anyone else seem to dirty anything and everything that is in the kitchen? My favorite recipes are distinguished by my messes that always end up on them.

Guys, if you can do this, it's a super romantic dish and sooo tasty. And it's a manly dish... it has sausage. :)

You can adapt this recipe to fit in a bento box. I have baked individual servings in muffin cups. The only thing I would say about that is you might want to use a different type of pasta (elbow noodles, spaghetti, orzo might be nice, etc.). I've never tried freezing this dish to see how it works in the freezer. It never really lasts that long with us.


Ziti al Forno

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp minced onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 carrot diced
1 celery stalk, diced
4 links hot or sweet Italian sausage
salt & pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/2 cup red wine, or beef stock
2 (14 oz.) cans chopped tomatoes
1 lb. ziti pasta (we can never find ziti so we use penne)
1 1/2 cups mozzarella, grated or diced
3 oz. Parmesan, grated
3 well beaten eggs

Brown the sausage links well in a heavy sauce pan. Remove and cut into 1/2 inch rounds. Next, make the sauce by heating the olive oil and cooking vegetables until they are softened. Add the wine or stock and cook until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, sausage pieces, and parsley, and simmer for 60 minutes until thickened.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta, and add to the sauce, mixing well.
In a buttered, oven proof dish, add 1/3 of the pasta, then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layers until everything is in the dish. Pour over the top of the pasta the beaten eggs, then sprinkle with the Parmesan.
Bake in a preheated 400 F oven until bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes roughly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

I hope you try this recipe.
 
Take care!