I don’t know where I was going with this dish. I wanted to throw something together that was suitable for a cold and dreary spring day in Colorado. I’ve lived in Denver for the last five and a half years and I have never seen anything like this. We got tons of snow (the mountains got 3 to 4 plus feet of snow) and it was all mixed with rain. On Friday afternoon the rain turned into snow and it snowed through the night. On Saturday it was a rain-snow mix but mostly rain here in the metro area. I had errands that I desperately needed to complete so I was out in the slushy mess.
Now back to the ziti. I was craving ziti during the week but I knew that a huge pan of ziti would sit in my fridge for several days and eventually end up in the garbage so I waited until the weekend when the bf was here. When I make baked ziti, I never work off a recipe and the ziti does change quite a bit depending on several factors. This time I wanted to use up some pesto I had in the freezer.
Pesto is one of those things that I like to make in season but shy away from during the off-season. The reason is because of the cost. During the summer when basil is plentiful in gardens and farmer’s markets, it is a practical thing to make and store. What else are you supposed to do with bags and bags of basil leaves? Anyone who has ever grown basil knows that it is very important to continually pinch and clip away at the tips to prevent the bush from flowering and seeding. During the off-season, basil is prohibitively expensive. I like the taste of fresh basil even during the winter months so occasionally I will buy one of those larger flowering herbs. The most cost-effective way to sneak the basil flavor in is to make and freeze pesto. Dried basil is just not the same. Pesto can be purchased in jars or tubs but the quality really varies. I found a brand called Cibo Naturals that I really like. It tastes almost as good as homemade pesto.
1 pound ziti, cooked according to package directions
1 ¼ pounds bulk Italian sausage
½ cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 cups of basic red sauce
salt
pepper
1 15 ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese
½ cup good pesto
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 ounces parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brown italian sausage and then add garlic and onions. Cook until onions are soft. Add marinara sauce and season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat and set aside.
3. Mix ricotta and pesto together. Set aside.
4. Now comes the assembling. We will use a similar layering method used for lasagna. Start off with about a cup of sauce on the bottom of a baking pan. Top with half of ziti noodles, ricotta-pesto mixture, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, spinach, and another cup of sauce. Repeat the layering and top the last layer of sauce with mozzarella cheese
I don't like too much cheese on top. I prefer it mixed in.
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