Baked Ziti
To complete this recipe in 30 minutes, preheat the oven before assembling the ingredients. If your skillet is not oven-safe, transfer the pasta mixture to a shallow 2-quart casserole dish before sprinkling with the cheese and baking. Packaged pre-shredded mozzarella is a time-saver here. Penne can be used in place of the ziti.
Ingredients
| 1 tbsp | olive oil |
| 6 | garlic cloves, minced |
| 1⁄8 tsp | red pepper flakes |
| 28 ozs | crushed tomatoes |
| 3 cups | water |
| 12 ozs | ziti |
| 1 cup | heavy cream |
| 1 oz | parmesan cheese, grated |
| 1⁄4 cup | basil, minced |
| 4 ozs | whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded |
Steps
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 475 degrees.
- Heat the oil in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, water, ziti, and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a vigorous simmer, until the ziti is almost tender, 15 to 18 minutes.
- Stir in the cream, Parmesan, and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the ziti. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the cheese has melted and browned, about 10 minutes. Using potholders, remove the skillet from the oven and serve.