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a baking dish of ziti in red tomato sauce with coarse browned sausage crumbles and soft red roasted-pepper strips beneath melted lightly browned provolone and Parmesan
Rachel Kim

Baked Ziti with Sausage

Brown the sausage in coarse crumbles and drain its fat before adding the tomatoes, because the pasta needs a meaty sauce rather than a slick of orange oil. Fennel and roasted red peppers make this a fuller-flavored tray, with provolone folded through the ziti and no ricotta layer; the short uncovered finish gives you a browned surface without drying out the sausage pieces near the edges of the dish.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb dry ziti
  • 1 tbsp fine salt for pasta water
  • 1 lb mild Italian pork sausage casings removed
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds lightly crushed
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes 28 oz
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup jarred roasted red pepper strips drained
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt for sauce
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 8 oz provolone grated, divided
  • 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Cook sausage and onion in a large skillet for 9 to 11 minutes, breaking the meat into coarse crumbles, until the sausage reaches 160°F. Drain excess fat.
  2. Stir in garlic and fennel for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, water, roasted peppers, sauce salt and black pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, boil ziti in water with the tablespoon salt until 3 minutes short of the package time, then drain. Fold pasta and half the provolone into the sausage sauce.
  4. Transfer to a deep 9-by-13-inch baking dish and cover with remaining provolone and Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
  5. Uncover for 8 to 10 minutes until the center reaches 165°F and the cheese browns lightly. Rest for 10 minutes before spooning into bowls.