{"id":1149,"date":"2010-09-10T13:38:30","date_gmt":"2010-09-10T20:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/foodiddy.wordpress.com\/?p=1147"},"modified":"2010-09-14T20:43:29","modified_gmt":"2010-09-15T04:43:29","slug":"two-color-ziti-fake-bake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/?p=1149","title":{"rendered":"Two-Color Ziti Fake-Bake"},"content":{"rendered":"

The September Everyday with Rachael Ray<\/em> magazine had a 30-minute meal recipe for Two-Color Ziti Fake-Bake<\/strong>. It looked like something that both Dan and I would like and I thought it would be perfect to portion out and freeze for future lunches\/dinners. I also loved that it used kale – since I seem to be on a kale kick.<\/p>\n

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My end result looked nothing like the magazine photo, but I’m o.k. with that. The reason being – mine looked way better, hah!<\/p>\n

The Ingredients:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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3\/4 Pound Ziti Pasta
\n3.5 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
\n4 Cloves Garlic – grated or finely chopped
\n1 Bunch Kale – the recipe suggested Tuscan or dinosaur – I got organic dinosaur – taken off stems and thinly sliced
\nFreshly Grated Nutmeg – to taste
\n1 Cup Fresh Ricotta
\n1\/4 Cup Grated Onion – I chopped mine
\nOne 28 Ounce Can of Italian Tomatoes in Puree – I just used Hunt’s Puree
\nA Few Fresh Basil Leaves
\n8 oz. Thinly Sliced Fresh Mozzarella
\nFreshly Grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese – I probably used 1\/2 Cup or more<\/p>\n

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt and add the ziti pasta. Cook until al dente. Drain, reserving about 3\/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. I just set my aside in a measuring cup.<\/p>\n

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I prepped the kale while the pasta cooked.<\/p>\n

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I took it off the stems, thinly sliced it and gave it a second rinse. Apparently “Organic” means straight out of the ground – this bunch had tons of soil between the leaves.<\/p>\n

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I\u00a0saut\u00e9ed\u00a0the kale with 1.5 tablespoons olive oil and garlic. I stirred until the kale became wilted and then added the freshly ground nutmeg, salt and pepper and then transferred to a plate.<\/p>\n

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I measured out the ricotta into a casserole dish and placed it under the broiler.<\/p>\n

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You want to make sure the oven rack is in the upper third of the oven.<\/p>\n

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I used the same\u00a0saut\u00e9\u00a0pan from the kale for the next step. Heat the remaining olive oil and onion, 2 cloves of garlic and basil over medium heat. The recipe then tells you to use a blender or food processor to puree the tomatoes. I just bought pureed tomatoes, so I opened the can and added the puree to the onion, garlic and basil. I then added salt and pepper to taste. I lowered the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.<\/p>\n

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The next step was to build the casserole dish.<\/p>\n

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I added the pasta, reserved cooking water and the kale on top of the golden browned ricotta.<\/p>\n

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I then added all of the sauce to the pasta and then topped with freshly shredded Parmesan\u00a0and the sliced fresh\u00a0mozzarella. The recipe wanted me to only use 2\/3 of the sauce and use the rest at the table. Nope – I just added it all and I’m glad I did – the extra sauce was the perfect amount. It also suggested a thin layer of Parm, I used a thick layer and I didn’t have giant spaces between my fresh mozzarella – I set each piece next to each other. Probably why mine didn’t look like the magazine photo after cooking. I placed the dish under the broiler for about 8-10 minutes until the cheese was golden and bubbling.<\/p>\n

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The recipe says it serves 4 – I think it was more like 6-8.<\/p>\n

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Dan and I both gobbled it up and had plenty of containers for the freezer for future meals. Even though there are a lot of photographs, the prep time was really easy. I love that the only oven time was under the broiler – normally ziti bake takes at least an hour in the oven. Pre-cooking the pasta was a great idea. That Rachael Ray – always thinking of time savers for busy cooks. Love that! This would be an easy mid-week meal. I served it with a warm rustic bread and it was delicious!<\/p>\n

Have a great weekend everyone! We’ll be heading to the Bay Area for a crazy hat party on Saturday – I hope to have lots of photos from that.
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The September Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine had a 30-minute meal recipe for Two-Color Ziti Fake-Bake. It looked like something that both Dan and I would like and I thought it would be perfect to portion out and freeze for future lunches\/dinners. I also loved that it used kale – since I seem to be … <\/p>\n

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