Best Cool Ziti With Eggplant And Tomatoes Recipes

BAKED ZITI WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT AND BASIL

Steps:

• For the Roasted Eggplant: Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Place the eggplant cubes on the baking sheet. Drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using). Give it a toss and make sure that the eggplant is distributed evenly on the baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Be sure to give it a gently toss halfway through the roasting process for even roasting. Set aside to cool.
• Do not turn the oven off.
• For the Pasta: 10-15 minutes before the eggplant is ready, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and ziti. Cook until it is al dente, 8-9 minutes. Drain the pasta, place it in a large bowl. Stir in the tomato-basil sauce.
• Mix together the ricotta and chopped basil in a bowl and set aside.
• To assemble: Spray a large (mine was 9X13) oven-proof casserole dish with vegetable spray, making sure that the sides of the dish is coated with the oil.Place half of the ziti at the bottom of the casserole dish. Spread half of the eggplant cubes evenly on top. Dollop with half of the ricotta-basil mixture and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella.
• Repeat the same steps for the second layer: Spread the rest of the ziti and roasted eggplant evenly as a second layer. Dollop with the rest of the ricotta-basil mixture and sprinkle the top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese on top is browned.
• When ready to serve, sprinkle it with fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and boil the pasta until al dente (tender but still slightly firm). Drain.
• Toss the cooked pasta with the quick tomato sauce, cubed mozzarella, half the Parmesan, all of the black pepper and crushed red pepper in a large bowl. Transfer the pasta to the prepared baking dish. Cover the top of the pasta with the sliced mozzarella and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake until lightly browned and hot, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and the herb sprigs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and season with pepper. Use now or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

COOL ZITI WITH EGGPLANT AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat broiler. Put tomato wedges in a shallow baking dish in one layer. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Broil tomatoes about 2 inches from heat until softened and lightly charred, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside until cool, and then add garlic, peperoncino and capers. Stir gently to distribute.
• Slice eggplant into long strips about 1/4-inch thick. Paint both sides of eggplant strips with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook eggplant strips on a stovetop grill, in a cast-iron pan or over hot coals, about two minutes per side. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
• Boil the pasta in abundantly salted water until al dente, then drain and rinse briefly. Blot dry and put in a wide serving bowl. Add tomato mixture and eggplant. Toss gently to distribute. Taste for salt and hot pepper and adjust.
• Crumble cheese over top. Drizzle with a little more oil and garnish with torn basil leaves.

ZITI AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the eggplant about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, pepper, and sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Mix the roasted red peppers into the skillet with the eggplant mixture. Continue cooking until eggplant is the consistency of the rest of the sauce.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place ziti pasta in the pot, cook 9 to 11 minutes, until al dente, and drain. Serve the eggplant and tomato sauce over the cooked ziti.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Open pitas and evenly spread insides with butter. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and season with paprika, salt and pepper. I like to make a light sprinkling of paprika across each piece. Heat pitas in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Use to scoop up eggplant sauce, or eat separately.

BAKED ZITI WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Line a sheet tray with foil then brush the foil generously with olive oil.
• Brush a 9X13 inch casserole dish bottom and sides with olive oil and set aside.
• If using Japanese eggplant, trim ends, leave skin on then cut into one-inch chunks and place into a bowl. If using regular eggplant, trim and peel and then cut into chunks. (Try to avoid cooking a really large regular eggplant as they will require salting the cubes and sitting for an hour to remove bitterness.)
• Add ½ cup of the olive oil, 1 teaspoon of the salt and a half teaspoon of pepper to the bowl with the eggplant and toss to coat. Pour out onto the prepared sheet tray and bake for 30 minutes, tossing them with a spatula half way through.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil.
• While eggplant is cooking, in a large skillet, add remaining olive oil and over medium heat, add onions, garlic and the pepper flakes and cook for three minutes.
• Add the cut-up tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the basil, the mint, parsley, sugar, remaining salt, remaining pepper and bring to a slow simmer and cook until the pasta is ready on the next step.
• Add salt to the boiling water and add the ziti and cook short of fully cooked. The pasta needs to be a little chewy as it will cook further in the oven. Save three cups of the pasta water and drain the ziti.
• Place the drained ziti back in the pan and hold.
• Thin the sauce down with a cup or more of the pasta water, taste and add more salt and pepper as needed, then pour over the cooked ziti and stir. Add more pasta water as needed to thin down if too thick.
• Stir in all of the ricotta cheese and the remaining 4 tablespoons of the fresh basil.
• Remove the roasted eggplant from the oven and add to the pasta and sauce and gently stir.
• Pour this mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
• Top with the shredded provolone and Parmesan cheese and bake for 30 minutes. The top should get browned and crusty and the center soft and creamy with the pasta perfectly cooked.
• Serve immediately.

BEST ZITI EVER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat marinara with 1 teaspoon basil until bubbling. In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
• Spread bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with sauce. Layer 1/2 of the ziti, 1/2, the sausage, 1/2 of the ricotta, and 1/2 the mozzarella. Spoon half of the sauce over top. Repeat layers. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 teaspoons basil and Italian seasoning.
• Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes.