Classic Italian-American baked ziti with roasted eggplant, spicy red pepper sauce and oodles of melted, gooey cheese including ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan.
The eggplant shrinks after roasting so it kind of disappears under all the layers of pasta, cheese and sauce but adds a little something extra special to its overall flavor.
You can get away with feeding this to eggplant/vegetable-haters without saying a word about it. When and if they do notice it will be at the point of no return.
Too late they’ll be hooked by its charms and won’t even give a care.
Of course you can always skip the eggplant. Up the pasta to 1 pound in that case.
Red pepper flakes give a pop of heat to the sauce that wakes everything up bringing the flavors to life. Again, you can leave them out or cut the amount down if spiciness isn’t your thing.
Feed a broken heart, a bad day, or simply a hungry belly. Being of the utmost comfort it will sooth whatever ails you.
Body, mind and soul included.
Classic Italian-American baked ziti with roasted eggplant, spicy red pepper sauce and oodles of melted, gooey cheese including ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Trim off stems, peel the eggplant and cut into 1-inch cubes. Toss them with 1 tablespoon coarse salt in a large colander and let them drain over a bowl for 1 hour. After an hour use paper towels to dry them - blot excess water and salt off them.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Generously grease a large baking sheet and toss the eggplant with 3-4 tablespoons of oil. Spread out evenly and bake until browned, carefully tossing halfway through about 25-35 minutes.
- In a large sauce pan over medium-low heat 2 tablespoons oil; saute onion until tender and translucent add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add tomatoes, Italian seasoning, parsley and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook 30 minutes, stirring often and reseasoning if needed.
- In a medium bowl stir the ricotta cheese with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella and the parmesan cheese.
- Cook the ziti to a minute under al dente according to package directions in plenty of salted water. Drain and add to a large mixing bowl. Toss with sauce, eggplant and 1 cup of the ricotta cheese.
- Generously grease a 9 x 13 casserole pan. Place 1/2 of the pasta evenly over the bottom of the pan. Dollop 1/2 of the remaining ricotta cheese by the spoonfuls over top then sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Repeat: spread the rest of the pasta evenly over top, dollop with the remaining ricotta and sprinkle with mozzarella.
- Bake 30-35 minutes until hot in the middle and lightly golden on top. Let set 5 minutes before serving.
3 cheese dishes have never looked so tempting!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Choc Chip Uru recently posted..Ma’s Birthday 2012 + CCU Undercover: Castle Taj
Distracting me from my studies with your beautiful photos ! mmm, pasta is all I need to be happy in life :) can’t wait to try this out !
I will definitely be skipping the eggplant!
What a gorgeous combination of ingredients! This pasta looks amazing. I’m mouthwatering :) Bye dear, have a good day
Note di Cioccolato recently posted..Per un dolce Novembre…
This has me drooling! I love baked ziti and would like it even more with the addition of eggplant! Awesome recipe.
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