Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 cup Ancient Harvest supergrain (quinoa) pasta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef (or ground pork or Italian sausage, etc.)
- a little salt
- ½ to 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tbsp (or more!) fresh rosemary and/or basil and/or oregano
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 large jar of marinara sauce
- your choice of vegetables, medium-to-large-dice: bell peppers, zucchini, spinach, etc.
- 15oz tub of ricotta cheese
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
In a large pot, boil pasta uncovered, to al dente, then drain and toss with a little olive oil.
In a large saute pan, on medium-high heat, warm up olive oil. Add the meat and salt, break it up, and when it is mostly browned, stir in the onion. Saute 4 to 5 minutes until onions are translucent and beginning to brown.
Stir in garlic, herbs, and pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute, then stir in sauce and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a 9 x 13-inch casserole pan, start building layers:
- the meat sauce you just made (thin layer)
- ricotta cheese (just dots, don’t try to spread it)
- vegetables
- the meat sauce mixed with the pasta
- more vegetables
- more meat sauce mixed with the pasta
- more ricotta
- shredded mozzarella
- grated parmesan
Bake until top is nicely browned, about 20 minutes.