Ziti al Forno
(dzee-tee ahl for-noh)
Il Pranzo della Domenica: The Sunday Anchor
If you grew up in America, baked ziti probably means a heavy, homogenous brick of ricotta and generic marinara. But walk into a kitchen in Naples on a Sunday morning and you will not find tubs of ricotta. Instead, you will hear the sharp snap of long, smooth ziti being broken by hand to release starch into a bubbling, sausage-rich sugo studded with tiny meatballs. This is the real thing, layered with smoked cheese and aggressively al dente pasta, scaled down for a busy weeknight without losing an ounce of its soul.
Before you start
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Bring a large pot of aggressively salted water to a rolling boil.
Ingredients
- extra-virgin olive oil3 tbsp
- yellow onion1 small
- mild Italian pork sausage1/2 lb
- dry white wine1/2 cup
- tomato passata24 oz
- fresh basil4 med leaves
- ground beef1/2 lb
- fresh breadcrumbs1/2 cup
- egg1 large
- Parmigiano Reggiano1 cup
- fresh parsley2 tbsp
- neutral oil2 tbsp
- smooth ziti1 lb
- scamorza or smoked provolone1/2 lb
- sopressata or salami1/4 lb
- sea salt1 tsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
Method
- 01
Start the sugo by browning the sausage and aromatics.
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the minced onion until soft, then crumble in the sausage to brown. Deglaze fiercely with the white wine until it mostly evaporates, then pour in the passata, add the basil, season with salt and pepper, and let it simmer gently.
- 02
Mix and roll the tiny polpettine.
In a bowl, combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, one-third cup of the grated Parmigiano, parsley, a pinch of salt, and pepper. Use your hands to mix gently, then pinch off small bits and roll them into tiny meatballs no larger than a marble.
- 03
Pan-fry the meatballs until browned.
Heat a shallow layer of neutral oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and drop in the meatballs, frying for just three to four minutes until browned all over, then remove them to a paper towel.
- 04
Boil the ziti for exactly half the package directions.
Drop the ziti into the boiling salted water, breaking them by hand first if you managed to find the traditional long tubes. Drain when the pasta is still stiff and crunchy in the center, and immediately toss it with two generous ladles of the simmering sugo to prevent sticking.
- 05
Layer the timballo with the pasta, cheese, and meats.
Spread a thin layer of sauce in a baking dish, add half the pasta, and scatter the meatballs, diced scamorza, and cubed salami over the top. Drizzle with sauce, dust heavily with Parmigiano, add the remaining pasta, and cap it entirely with the rest of the sauce and cheese.
- 06
Bake the ziti until the edges bubble and a crust forms.
Bake uncovered in the hot oven for 25 to 30 minutes until a dark, irresistible crust develops on top.
- 07
Rest the casserole before serving.
Remove the baking dish from the oven and walk away, letting it sit for 15 minutes so the starches set and the pasta finishes drinking in the sauce.
Notes
Ditch the ridges.
Always buy smooth ziti for baked dishes, as ridged pasta absorbs sauce differently and betrays the canonical Neapolitan texture.
The weeknight meatball cheat.
If you despise pan-frying on a Wednesday, drop the raw meatballs directly into the simmering sugo to poach for fifteen minutes instead.
Make the sauce ahead of time.
The sugo and meatballs can be made days in advance and kept in the fridge, leaving only the pasta boiling and assembly for your weeknight dinner.
From Cook Italian in America.