For me, there’s no sadder culinary capitulation than a plate of boiled spaghetti topped with jar sauce. But you say you’re a barely domesticated bike-mad Neanderthal in desperate need of carbs – what can you do? Well, with just a little bit of extra effort you can make an enormous plate of delicious baked ziti that is infinitely less pathetic. In fact, it might even pass for real cooking.
Start by boiling water for the pasta. Bring the sauce to a simmer in another pot, and preheat your oven to 350. Start dicing up your other ingredients while the pasta cooks. Once the pasta’s done you’re ready to start building.
<img src=”http://www.velocitynation.com/pictures/image/ziti1.jpg”>
Spinach, anchovies, and olives on the left, minus anchovies, plus capers on the right. Chiffonade of basil below.
The cool thing about this dish is that each serving bakes in its own plate, so each person can customize their serving to their liking. You can go with a bare bones approach and just have ricotta at the bottom, or you could add a whole host of other ingredients. Diced kalamata olives, spinach (boil the fresh stuff or nuke the frozen stuff, then squeeze out the water), anchovies, sautéed mushrooms, roasted peppers, and capers are just some of the possibilities. You could even add sautéed ground beef or sausage to make a faux lasagna.
<img src=”http://www.velocitynation.com/pictures/image/ziti2.jpg”>
Pasta goes on, followed by sauce and cheese.
Throw whatever you want into the bottom of your plate and top with a few dollops of ricotta. The pasta goes on next, followed by the sauce. Make sure there are no dry protruding pieces of ziti. Top with grated cheese – mozzarella, swiss, whatever. If you’re feeling saucy throw on some Reggiano as well, reserving some to top after the ziti comes out of the oven. The ziti bakes for about fifteen minutes, and then you’re in the home stretch.
Finally, stack some basil leaves neatly and roll tightly. Slice across the roll into thin strips (chiffonade) and sprinkle on top for a presentation that just might fool some unsuspecting young lady into believing that a future with you won’t involve a series of bitter and lonely weekends spent on the side of a road, straining to catch a fleeting glimpse of her tormentor every few minutes.
<img src=”http://www.velocitynation.com/pictures/image/ziti3.jpg”>
…and you’re done! If Laurie and I were still dating I would’ve have wiped the sauce off the brim.
…any questions?
Cheese?
out of the jar, because you can add a dollop of really good oil after it’s heated up (off burner) and that makes a HUGE difference in taste/feel.
Great meal! My three meal repetoire (burritos, boiled spag w/can sauce, and…burritos) was in serious need of help.
Thanks.
(Graded carrots makes a bitter sauce nice and sweet.)
Jeremy
aaron must be twitching somewhere right now
rao’s is too oily. go with fairway house brand
Rao’s sauce out of the jar is pretty good… if you must
with Sandra Lee or is that Andy Shen.
I went nearly 20 years of my adult life never using sauce from a jar. But I read a review of different sauces somewhere (I think in Cooks Illustrated) that suggested that some aren’t so bad – especially Classico. So I tried it and it’s not bad. Not as a good as homemade, but still tastes good.
So when I don’t have anything homemade around and am in a hurry, I mince some garlic, put some good oil on it and heat that, then throw the jar sauce on.