Lyons Family Cookbook

Baked Ziti - Meatless

1

lb

whole milk cottage cheese or 2 percent cottage cheese

2

large eggs, lightly beaten

3

oz

grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 cups)

Table salt

1

lb

ziti or other short, tubular pasta

2

Tbs

extra virgin olive oil

5

medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 tsp.)

2

cans

(15 oz each) Muir Glen tomato sauce

1

can

(14.5 oz) Muir Glen Organic diced tomatoes

1

tsp

dried oregano

1/2

cup

plus 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves

1

tsp

sugar

Ground black pepper

3/4

tsp

cornstarch

1

cup

heavy cream (see note)

8

oz

low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups) (see note)

1

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°. Whisk cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup Parmesan together in medium bowl; set aside. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain pasta and leave in colander (do not wash Dutch oven).

2

Meanwhile, heat oil and garlic in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until garlic is fragrant but not brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in ½ cup basil and sugar, then season with salt and pepper.

3

Stir cornstarch into heavy cream in small bowl; transfer mixture to now-empty Dutch oven set over medium heat. Bring to simmer and cook until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pot from heat and add cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup tomato sauce, and ¾ cup mozzarella, then stir to combine. Add pasta and stir to coat thoroughly with sauce.

4

Transfer pasta mixture to 13- by 9-inch baking dish and spread remaining tomato sauce evenly over pasta. Sprinkle remaining ¾ cup mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan over top. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

5

Remove foil and continue to cook until cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve.

The test kitchen prefers baked ziti made with heavy cream, but whole milk can be substituted by increasing the amount of cornstarch to 2 teaspoons and increasing the cooking time in step 3 by 1 to 2 minutes. Our preferred brand of mozzarella is Dragone Whole Milk Mozzarella. Part-skim mozzarella can also be used, but avoid preshredded cheese, as it does not melt well

Source

Source: CooksIllustrated.com