Recipe - Oven-Baked Ziti With Three Cheeses

2 tablespoon Olive oil
1 Onion; chopped
2 Garlic; chopped
1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
1/3 cup Tomato paste
1 Tomato sauce
1 cup Water
1 teaspoon Dried oregano leaves;
crumbled
One half teaspoon Dried sage; rubbed
One half cup Parmesan cheese; grated
8 ounce Mozzarella cheese; grated
12 ounce Freshly cooked ziti or
Other tubular pasta
1 Egg

Heat oil in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and
fennel seeds and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Mix in tomato
paste and cook 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, water, oregano and sage. Simmer
until mixture thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
Stir in One fourth cup parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 450. Butter 9x13 inch glass baking dish. In medium bowl
combine ricotta cheese and egg. Reserve One fourth cup mozzarella cheese for

topping. Add remaining mozzarella to ricotta cheese mixture and blend.
season with salt and pepper.

Spread One fourth of tomato sauce over bottom of prepared dish. Layer 1/3 of

pasta over. Drop half of ricotta cheese mixture over by spoonfuls. Spread
One fourth of sauce over. Repeat layering with another 1/3 of pasta, remaining
cheese mixture, One fourth of sauce and remaining pasta. Spread remaining sauce
over and sprinkle with reserved mozzarella and remaning One fourth cup parmesan.

(Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Cover and bake until heated through, about 40 minutes.

Contributor: Bon Appetit

Posted to MMRecipes Digest by Jack Elvis jackelvis@moonlink.net on Apr
28, 1998