Baked Ziti With Easy Homemade Italian Gravy

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (not extra virgin)
• 1 (28 ounce) can italian plum tomatoes
• 1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 chunk pecorino romano cheese (2-inch x 1/4-inch)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 lb italian sausage, with fennel 4-5 inches each
• 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
• to taste hot pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 lb ziti pasta, rigatti
• 1 lb part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 lb part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Recipe

• 1 gravy (2 hours before dinner or as early as a few days before) in a medium bowl mix together . . . ground beef, 1 tsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1 clove garlic minced, 2 tbs italian flavored bread crumbs, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. mix with fork until evenly blended. brown meat mixture in olive oil in a 5 qt sauce pan. when cooked almost through remove.
• 2 drain pan. add 1 lb sausage. brown well on all sides. remove.
• 3 drain pan well. saute 1/2 lb sliced slice fresh mushroom until slightly brown.
• 4 return sausage links and ground meat mixture to sauce pan. add tomatoes, puree, 1 tsp parsley, 1 tbs basil, 1 clove minced garlic. simmer 1 hour. remove sausage, slice (1/4 ") return to pot. continue to simmer until ready to use.
• 5 next. fill large pot with 5 quarts cold water. bring to boil. cook ziti according to package directions (al dente).
• 6 while ziti is cooking mix together ricotta, 3/4 lb mozzarella, romano and black pepper.
• 7 preheat oven to 350°f.
• 8 drain ziti well. place in 9x12 baking dish. add cheese mixture blend well.
• 9 with slotted spoon, remove 2-3 cups meat and mushrooms from gravy. add to ziti. add 1 cup extra sauce. mix well. top with remaining mozzarella. cover. bake 30 minutes. remove cover and baked another 5-10 minutes, until cheese melts and gets bubbly. you do not want it to brown.
• 10 also works well with medium sized shells.
• 11 1 cup sliced black olives may be added to recipe or substituted for mushrooms.