Baked Ziti - Everyday Food

**Susan's note: This is a good, easy, make-ahead-if-you-want-to, double, or quadruple recipe. I recommend using a simple sauce (I used Tomato Basil), not a heavier "three cheese" variety. I used high protein pasta with no problems. Yummy!!

Baked Ziti

The classic Italian supper comes together remarkably quickly -- garlic bread bakes alongside the ziti, and a green salad is tossed in mere minutes.

Prep: 20 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Ingredients

Serves 4

* FOR BAKED ZITI
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 8 ounces ziti rigate (ridged) or other short pasta
* 1 cup part-skim ricotta
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
* 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
* 1 jar (24 to 26 ounces) best-quality tomato sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain and reserve.
2. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.
3. In the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce. Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.