First off I do not consider myself a gourmet chef or anything in that realm. But I do know GOOD FOOD, and I know what I like to eat! I have plenty of friends who are super foodies and kind of amazing when it comes to teaching me about new foods.
So first things first, supplies:
- large mixing bowl
- spatula(mixing spatula)
- casserole dish
- cutting board and knives
Now that you're set up and ready to go here are your ingredients:
- 15 oz. tub of Ricotta
- small package of goat cheese (Ile de France has a 1$ off coupon right now)
- trianlge(small) Parmigiano-Reggiano A.K.A parmesan cheese
-cottage cheese(normally I'm not a huge fan of this cheese but WOAH! it helps with binding and texture)
-2 cups of mozzarella cheese (separated)
- 1 large egg
-1 med/large white onion
-1 cup of mushrooms(optional)
1 box of ziti or Mostaccioli pasta
-5 basil leafs
-1 bay leaf
-2 cloves of garlic
-3 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
-2 cans of diced tomatoes (I bought Delmonte basil and oregano)
-1 can of tomato sauce again I used Delmonte
-1 can of tomato paste
- salt and pepper for taste
-1lb of ground chuck 80% lean (feel free to use chicken or turkey it works the same way)
-1lb of ground mild Italian sausage
-1/4 cup of red cooking wine
-3 tablespoons of olive oil.
-2 tablespoons cup of sugar (It sounds crazy but well its not just trust me here)
WHEW! while you are at it grab the kitchen sink its going in there also!
so here we go grab your mixing bowl and lets start combing some cheeses this will be your filling to making creamy cheesy ziti!
combine and fold together with spatula:
3/4 of the 15.0z. tub of ricotta cheese
1 cup of mozzarella
1 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 cup of cottage cheese
1 small entire package of goat cheese.
1 large egg
(salt and pepper to taste)
now set this delicious mixture aside
SAUCE TIME!
start by using a large sauce/ soup pot heating( med/ high heat) your 3 to 4 table spoons of olive oil.
while the oil is heating up go ahead and start by dicing the medium onion, and mincing the 2 cloves of garlic. Your oil should be hot enough now to place both of these items in they'll begin to sizzle. You'll want to let them start to caramelize a little not to too much sitting frequently. Once the onions and garlic are caramelized add in your meat choices, remember the combination of the of the sausage( they make sausage style meat in chicken and turkey) will help add flavor to your dish. You will want to make sure the meat is fully browned before going forward.
Once your meat has browned you are going to want you are going to drain any fat that is remaining, don't worry if any of it is a little stuck to the pan thats what the wine is for. Once all the fat is drained go ahead and add some wine to the pot about 1/2 -1 cup of wine to deglaze the pot. On medium heat lets start adding all of our tomato products (sauce, diced tomatoes, paste). Add your bay leaf and Italian seasoning start stirring it gently with a kitchen spoon bring this to a simmer (it should be bubbling a little). Lets chop up our mushrooms here and add them in along with salt and pepper to taste.
Nows the time to lower the head to a low/med simmer. We just want the flavors to blend and be delicious it should be a little chunky.
So I personally am not great at cooking pasta or making it al dente. The box says to bring water to a boil the pasta with water and wait 10 mi till firm? So thats what I did. I'll let you be the judge of your own pasta, I like mine a little firm since it's going in to the oven covered in sauce.
After your pasta has come to the cooked-ness your happy with, remove from the stove and drain also run some cold water over it(this helps stop the cooking process so your pasta isn't mushy).
The bowl you have had sitting to the side with the cheese comes in to play now. Combine the cheese mixture and the pasta. Why? you might be asking yourself? This way all the pasta gets fair play in the cheese.
** start pre heating oven to 375**
After the cheese are all combined ad 2 cups of the see mixture to the bowl this way its becomes gooey and its not just noodles covered in cheese.
In your casserole dish put two spoonfuls of the sauce thats heating on the stove in the casserole dish (spread it evenly) you want this layer so that the pasta doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the dish.
start scooping out the pasta mixture in to dish smoothing it out evenly across the dish. Once its all in there add the remaining part of the sauce on top smoothing as you go. Use that remaining 1 cup of mozzarella on top of the sauce. The oven should be preheated to 375 degrees.
Bake for 10-15 min till golden brown it should look like this (i put the oven on broil for a minute or two just to create a crust)
Personally I wanted to dig right in. But contain yourself. Let it rest for about 5 min then go ahead and tear it up.
ENJOY!
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