BAKED ZITI WITH EASY HOMEMADE ITALIAN GRAVY

Baked Ziti With Easy Homemade Italian Gravy image

Make and share this Baked Ziti With Easy Homemade Italian Gravy recipe from Food.com.

Provided by iame8430

Categories European

Time 1h20m

Yield 1 9X12 baking pan, 6-8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 21

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 (28 ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes
1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 chunk pecorino romano cheese (2-inch x 1/4-inch)
1 lb ground beef
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb Italian sausage, with fennel 4-5 inches each
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
to taste hot pepper flakes (optional)
1 lb ziti pasta, rigatti
1 lb part-skim ricotta cheese
1 lb part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Steps:

Gravy (2 hours before dinner or as early as a few days before) in a medium bowl mix together . . . ground beef, 1 tsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1 clove garlic minced, 2 TBS Italian Flavored Bread Crumbs, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Mix with fork until evenly blended. Brown meat mixture in olive oil in a 5 qt sauce pan. When cooked almost through remove.
Drain pan. Add 1 lb sausage. Brown well on all sides. Remove.
Drain pan well. Saute 1/2 lb sliced slice fresh mushroom until slightly brown.
Return sausage links and ground meat mixture to sauce pan. Add tomatoes, puree, 1 tsp parsley, 1 TBS basil, 1 clove minced garlic. Simmer 1 hour. Remove sausage, slice (1/4 ") return to pot. continue to simmer until ready to use.
NEXT. Fill large pot with 5 quarts cold water. Bring to boil. Cook ziti according to package directions (al dente).
While ziti is cooking mix together ricotta, 3/4 lb mozzarella, Romano and black pepper.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Drain ziti well. Place in 9X12 baking dish. Add cheese mixture blend well.
With slotted spoon, remove 2-3 cups meat and mushrooms from gravy. Add to ziti. Add 1 cup extra sauce. Mix well. Top with remaining mozzarella. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. remove cover and baked another 5-10 minutes, until cheese melts and gets bubbly. You do not want it to brown.
Also works well with medium sized shells.
1 cup sliced black olives may be added to recipe or substituted for mushrooms.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1116.8, Fat 54.3, SaturatedFat 23.7, Cholesterol 166.4, Sodium 1813.4, Carbohydrate 86.8, Fiber 7.4, Sugar 13.8, Protein 70.5