Baked Ziti

I got a request for baked Ziti : i thought about it, it is a simple dish but how would i change it up, so i took the challenge and here is what i came up with, enjoy.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients

5 lb of Ziti pasta cooked ali dente
3 LB Ricotta Cheese
2 lb of mozzarella cheese
2 quarts of home made marinara sauce
2 8oz packages of mascarpone cheese
1 lb of Italian sausage, sliced
1 lb of Porcini mushrooms, sliced
2 cups parmesan cheese
6 eggs
6 cloves of garlic. minced
2 shallots, diced
1/4 cup of fresh chop Italian parsley
1/4 cup ribbon sliced basil
2 table spoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 table spoons of unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

You will need a large deep baking dish, i used a 17 inch by 12 inch by 5 inch pan.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a skillet over medium high heat melt 1 tablespoon of butter, next add the shallots and saute until soft. Remove from heat and add the garlic, and thyme and set aside.

In another skillet over med high heat and the remaining butter and the mushrooms and saute until tender, drain any liquid, place mushrooms in a bowl and set aside. In the same skillet crisp up the sausage, drain fat and set aside.

In a large bowl place the ricotta and mascarpone cheese and the eggs and whisk until combined. Next stir in the basil, the saute shallots mixture and half the parsley.

Now in the large pan layer in the ziti, ricotta cheese mixture, the mushrooms, half of the parmesan cheese and sausage. Stir to combine. Next pour in the marinara sauce and half of the mozzarella and stir to combine. Over the top sprinkle the remaining cheeses and parsley, Cover in foil and bake for one hour. Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese starts to brown.

Enjoy Cooking