Baked Ziti Recipe

The Meat Sauce

1. Chop the onion and sauté in olive oil over medium heat until soft. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the sausage and mix half of it (about 100 g-3.5 oz) with the ground beef. Set the remaining sausage aside. When the onion is well done, add the meat and sausage and mix well to brown.
2. Increase the heat slightly and add the tomato passata. Season lightly with salt, cover and simmer over moderate heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook the Ziti

1. While the meat sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil in which you will cook the ziti. Cook the ziti in boiling, lightly salted water. PLEASE NOTE: You can leave them whole and cut them later when you are making the layers. Or you can break them in half to make them soak more easily.
2. Drain the ziti al dente and set aside. Consider a few minutes less than the time indicated on the package. In fact, this way the ziti will not be too mushy after a second cooking in the oven. Cut the smoked scamorza into slices or cubes, as you prefer, and set aside.

The Layers

1. Grease the bottom of the baking dish with a little oil and arrange the first layer of ziti as evenly as possible. Arrange the ziti next to each other. If, like me, you have a baking dish that is slightly smaller than the length of the ziti, cut them off and use the scraps to fill in the gaps.
2. Top the layer of ziti with the meat sauce and slices of smoked provolone.
3. Add a few pieces of the raw sausage you set aside. Then top with the ziti. Repeat this process for three layers or until you run out of ingredients. PLEASE NOTE: If you are using a lower, wider baking pan, make two layers; if you are using a tall baking pan, make up to four layers.

Baking

1. Finish with a layer of meat sauce, topped with plenty of grated Parmigiano cheese and a few knobs of butter. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (390°F) for about 20 minutes. For the last two minutes of baking, turn on the grill and let the pasta gratinate. A crisp and appetizing crust will form on the surface, while the ziti will be soft and stringy inside.