Five Cheese Ziti al Forno

FoH:When you're here, you're family!

[edit] Background

This is basically the same dish from Olive Garden, but you get full quality control!

Submitted by --icepaxx 23:38, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Let's Cook

[edit] Ingredients

Main Dish

• 4 cups ziti sauce (recipe below)
• ziti topping (recipe below)
• 1 pound dry ziti pasta
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Ziti Sauce

• 4 cups tomato sauce (favorite homemade recipe or store bought)
• 2 cups Alfredo sauce (favorite homemade recipe or store bought)
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 tablespoons shredded fontina cheese

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and blend thoroughly. Cover, set aside and refridgerate until ready to use.

Ziti Topping

• 3 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cups shredded maozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and blend thoroughly.
2. Cover, set aside and refridgerate until ready to use.

[edit] Directions

1. In a large pot, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to directions.
2. While the pasta is boiling, spray an 8-inch by 10-inch or 9-inch by 12-inch baking dish with pan spray.
3. Pour 1/4 cup of the prepared ziti sauce in the dish. Using the bottom of a spoon, spread the sauce evenly.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
5. When pasta has finished cooking, drain the excess water and pour pasta into a large mixing bowl.
6. Add remaining ziti sauce to the hot pasta. Mix thoroughly and pour into the baking dish.
7. Evenly distribute shredded mozzarella over the mixture and then top with the prepared ziti topping.
8. Place on center rack in the oven until top is lightly browned and cheese is bubbling, about 25-35 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

[edit] Important Notes

• Enjoy with fresh Italian bread and glass of wine!

[edit] User Experiences

• This recipe makes a LOTSA PASTA. If you are a lonely nerd like me, this will make a weeks worth of leftovers. Very good dish for how long you can keep it. --icepaxx 06:41, 10 August 2009 (UTC)

• For a meat ziti, brown ground beef or sausage with some onions/green peppers/whatever you want and add that to the cheese sauce before putting it all together in the baking dish. About a pound of meat is good to a whole onion/pepper.