Baked Ziti ~ Italy

[Twitchin Kitten]

This is our family recipe!

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta cooked al dente.
1 quart Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 pounds mozzarella cheese - shredded/cubed(use whole milk and not low fat!)
1 egg
handful chopped flat leaf parsley
Spaghetti sauce

Now, keep in mind we don't measure so everything is sort of "as it looks". I tried my best with measurments for you so there is a basic idea and amount. This is for enough for a family of 6 small eaters, 4 big eaters and leftovers for the next day's lunch.

Cook your pasta and drain it well. set aside.

Blend the egg into the ricotta, then the mozzarella in that. Toss in the parsley and mix it all again.

put some pasta sauce in the bottom of a large glass baking dish.
Now, layer cheese mixture, sauce, cheese, sauce until the cheese is all finished. Save a little bit of the mozzarella for topping off last.

Bake in a 350°F oven until the center is hot and cheese is melted and bubbly.
Take out of oven and broil the top for a couple of minutes to 'crisp' it up SLIGHTLY. Do NOT walk away from the oven when doing this!! You'll kill the ziti!

Take out of the oven and let it set for about 5 mins and serve hot with extra sauce on the side and nice crusty fresh baked Italian bread.