Baked Ziti

I got this recipe from the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated. I didn't change much from their original recipe, except I added extra cheese on top and I used dried basil instead of fresh because apparently everyone else at the store bought all of the fresh stuff. I'm already looking forward to eating these leftovers all week!

To start, mix together 2 eggs, 16oz cottage cheese, and 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. (Use the fancy cheese instead of the stuff that comes grated in a can, because it adds a lot of flavor to the dish.) The magazine cooks decided to use cottage cheese instead of ricotta cheese, because the ricotta caused the dish to be bland and grainy. Set aside for later.

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive or canola oil over medium heat in a large skillet, and add 5-6 medium cloves of minced garlic until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add one jar of tomato sauce (I keep a few jars of Bertolli Tomato & Basil sauce handy in a pinch), one can of diced tomatoes, and a little oregano and basil to the skillet. Let it sit and stir occasionally until the sauce thickens (about 10 minutes). Take off the heat and stir in 1 tsp. sugar, and season with salt and pepper.

Now to boil the noodles: bring four quarts of water to boil in a large pot, add 1 T. of salt and 1 pound of ziti or any other tube-shaped noodle. The trick here, according to the magazine, is to only cook the noodles halfway (so for dried noodles, about 5 minutes), so that they don't become overcooked when you bake them in the oven. Drain the noodles and set aside in a colander.

Take anywhere from 8-16 ounces of real mozzarella cheese (in ball form, not pre-shredded), and chop into small cubes (I did about 1/2 inch). The reason you use the moist cheese instead of the shredded cheese is because the shredded cheese has extra cornstarch added, in order to keep the cheese from clumping, and this doesn't melt as smoothly in the dish as the moist cheese. The original recipe calls for 8 oz. of cheese, but I love mozzarella so I added some extra cheese I had taking up space in my fridge.

Mix together 3/4 t. cornstarch with 1 cup of heavy cream in the large pot you just drained, and bring to a simmer over medium heat until slightly thickened (3-4 minutes). Remove from heat, add your cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup of tomato sauce, and 3/4 cup of mozzarella. Mix together, and then stir in the ziti noodles until coated.

Add the noodles to the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish. Top with the rest of the sauce then the rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover dish with tinfoil and bake at 350F for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Let cool on the counter for 20 minutes before serving.

This dish smelled really good when it came out of the oven. The cheese was browned perfectly, without that gooey layer on top like I usually get from shredded cheese. I've already reheated a slice from the fridge for lunch, and it was just as good as when it was fresh from the oven.

The recipe turned out excellent, as usual, which is what I expect from every Cook's Country or Cook's Illustrated recipe. These magazines are best for cooks who want reliable recipes with good explanations for why certain ingredients are added or omitted. I've tried reading other cooking magazines, but they seem to focus on exotic or complicated recipes, and they don't always work out right. (Don't even get me started on the bread recipes from French Women Don't Get Fat, ugh.) The articles that come with the recipes are just as fun to read as the recipes are to make, plus they have product reviews in the back.

If you don't like a bunch of magazines, subscribe to the online version. You get access to the archives and the most recent magazine, and it's nice to be able to search through the archive when I'm stuck for meal ideas.

Recipe: Baked Ziti (source: Cook's Illustrated)

Ingredients

16 oz. whole milk or 1% cottage cheese
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 oz.)
Table salt
1 lb. ziti (or other tube-shaped pasta)
2 T. olive or canola oil
5 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 jar (28 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil (or a heaping 1/2 cup of the fresh stuff if you have it)
1 t. sugar
Ground black pepper
3/4 t. cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream
8-16 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. 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).

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.

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.

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.

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.