Maximum Effort Baked Ziti
Ingredients:
1 pound uncooked ziti, penne, or rigatoni
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound italian sausage
1 28oz can San Marzano tomatoes
1 14oz can of chicken broth
1 medium white onion, diced
1 bulb garlic, diced
12 oz shredded mozzarella
4 oz grated parmasean
4 oz fresh basil
1 tbsp tomato paste
Fresh thyme to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Steps
Ahead of cooking, remove Italian sausage from its casing, and mix together in a bowl with the ground beef, until the meat mixture is well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge until it's time to cook, preferrably at least an hour.
Separate the large and medium-sized basil leaves from the stems and set aside. The stems should still have bunches of little leaves left.
Begin by heating a large, high-walled skillet over medium high heat. Next, add the meat mixture and carefully use your spoon to spread it out into a large patty, making maximum contact with the surface of the pan.
Let the meat brown up before messing with it. Use your spoon to divide the patty into quarters, then carefully flip each section. Allow the underside of the meat to brown.
After both sides of the meat patty have taken on good color, use your spoon or a potato masher to break the meat into bite sized pieces. Aim for something that will fit easily on a fork.
When there's no more pink on the meat, remove to a plate and set aside. Retain the grease in the pan, and let it come back up to temperature.
Add the diced onion to the grease, then lower the heat to medium. Spread the onion out in a thin layer and let them cook for a minute or two before stirring. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook the onions until they begin turning translucent.
Meanwhile, add the San Marzano tomatoes into a bowl. Use some cold water to rinse the inside of the can, and add that to the bowl as well. Go in with your fingers and crush the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces or smaller.
When the onions are translucent, create a well in the center of the pan. If the pan is looking too dry, add a drizzle of olive oil, then add the garlic. Let it fry for a minute or so, until fragrant, then stir to combine with the onions.
Make another well in the pan and add the tomato paste. Spread it out with your spoon to make maximum surface contact. Let it toast for around 2 minutes, then stir to combine with the aromatics.
Add the chicken broth and deglaze the pan.
Add the crushed tomatoes and meat mixture back into the pan, and stir everything to combine well.
Add the basil stems and thyme, then let the sauce come up to a low boil.
Cover the pan and cut the heat to the lowest setting. Let the sauce simmer, covered, for around 4 hours.
After the sauce has simmered, uncover and add roughly 1 tsp of salt. Test for seasoning, and add more salt and black pepper as needed. Remove the basil stems and discard.
Let the sauce simmer, uncovered, for another 30-60 minutes, or until it has reduced to your desired thickness.
Meanwhile, slice the remaining basil leaves into thin strips.
When the sauce is as thick as you want it, remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a 13x9 inch casserole dish by adding a thin layer of sauce and cheese to the bottom.
Boil the ziti for one minute less than the package instructions and drain. Immediately add to the sauce pan and toss until all of the pasta is well coated.
Begin layering your ingredients into the casserole dish. Pasta, basil, cheese, repeat until the pasta and basil run out. This much basil might look like too much basil, but it's actually the perfect amount.
Top with a final layer of cheese, and smooth everything down with the back of your spoon.
Tightly wrap with foil and bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Then, remove the foil and put under a broiler for 90-120 seconds, or until the cheese is nicely browned. Remove from the oven and rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Reheating
Add your servings to a separate baking dish, 8x8 in is perfect for this.
Add a splash of water to the edges of the dish. This will steam up in the oven and account for any moisture lost in the fridge.
Cover tightly with foil and bake at 300F for 30 minutes. Serve immediately
Commentary:
There are easier ways to do this, but sometimes a man's gotta put his entire cunt into a recipe, and this is that recipe. Mixing ground meats does a lot of good work that beef or sausage alone wouldn't do. A full bulb or garlic might seem like too much garlic, but just like with the basil, it's actually the perfect amount. This calls for way more cheese than I'd typically put into anything, but I think ziti warrants it, and the cheese flavor doesn't overwhelm.
Making this was actually the first time I've used San Marzanos, but I figured in for a penny, in for a pound. And since we're already in this deep, yeah I let my sauce cook for 5 hours, and yes it showed. This was far and away the best ziti I've ever baked, and it's not even close. That said, I don't usually have the patience to put six hours of work into a recipe, so this will be a special occasion sort of dish.