Lasagna-Style Baked Ziti
Our refrigerator was getting low on lunch-time leftovers, so last night I made a pan of baked ziti. Instead of my regular recipe, I chose to change it up a bit. I remember reading over a lasagna-style baked ziti in one of my recent Food & Wine magazines, so after a quick search, I had found what I had stored away in my distant memory. Of course, I made some modifications to the recipe based on what Tommy and I like in a baked ziti dish. It turned out to be a nice creamy alternative to the strictly tomato-based ziti that I have made in the past. The creaminess comes from a bechamel (which was pretty plain, I should add more cheese next time, and maybe some salt?).
Lasagna-Style Baked Ziti
Ingredients
3/4 lb ziti
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small to medium yellow onion, diced
1 lb hot Italian Sausage
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp. dried marjoram
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup AP flour
2 cups whole milk
1 egg yolk
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and start a large pot of water on the stove (for the pasta). In a large skillet heat the olive oil, then add the onion and cook over medium heat until the onions are soft (about 4 minutes). Add the sausage and cook for 10 minutes or until beginning to brown (break up the clumps as it cooks). Remove from the heat and add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, marjoram, parsley, salt and pepper.
Once the sausage is added to the skillet, add the pasta to the boiling water (use cooking time on box), and start the bechamel: In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Whisk in the milk (it helps if the milk has been warmed instead of being cold) and cook over medium-high heat until the sauce is very thick and boiling, whisking constantly (about 5-7 minutes). Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolk and cheese (and salt if needed). Stir all but 3/4 cup of the bechamel into the sausage/tomato mixture. Stir in the pasta to this mixture.
Pour the mixture (pasta, bechamel, sausage/tomato mixture) into an appropriately sized casserole dish (I used an 8.5 X 11 inch dish). Then spread the remaining bechamel over the top. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, preheat the broiler and broil the pasta for about 2 minutes, until the top has browned and is bubbly. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving.