Baked Ziti

Michael Zuercher


	Oven to 350°, upper-middle rack.
Pasta
				Cook until not quite al dente.
	1.5	lbs	penne or ziti	Cook until not quite al dente.
Sauce
				Soften, ~5 min.
	1	small	onion
	3/4	t	salt

				Cook through.
	1	lbs	Italian sausage	Cook through.

				Until fragrant, ~30 sec.
	4	cloves	garlic
	2	t	dried oregano leaves
	1/2	t	dried thyme leaves

				Deglaze and reduce until simmer turns to sizzle.
	2/3	c	dry red wine	Deglaze and reduce until simmer turns to sizzle.

				Simmer and reduce beyond the final constency. You'll loosen it up with more wine. ~10 min.
	1		(28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
	1 1/4	t	sugar

				Add off heat.
	1/3	c	wine
	1	t	oregano
Assemble
				Fill 9x13 baking dish 1/3 to 1/2 full with pasta. Cover pasta with a layer of provolone slices. Spread sour cream over the cheese. Fill pan with remaining pasta. There may be some left over. Spread sauce on top. Sprinkle with mozzarella.
	1/2	lbs	sliced provolone
			sour cream
	8	oz	low-moisture mozzarella, shredded

	Bake at 350° for ~22 min, until mozzarella is just starting to brown.
Alternate Easy Sauce
				After the Italian sausage is cooked, just add Prego. Skip the garlic, herbs, wine, sugar. Simmer ~10 min.
	1		(24 oz) jar Prego Traditional spaghetti sauce