Vegetarian night, baked Ziti

Nothing says  family meal like Baked Ziti. But when you think of vegetarian food, it is probably not the first dish that comes to mind. I tend to think of vegetarian as some obscure vegetable dish with tofu in it! When I first introduced my family to the idea of having at least one vegetarian meal a week, my son put his head down and cried: " I am going to die!". Well, it has been several weeks now and he is still with us, happy and healthy (he really is a great teenager!). But I do try to make dishes that are familiar and tasty and don't suffer much from the exclusion of the meaty ingredient.

So was the case with this dish. Americas test kitchen has done it again! In the latest issue of Cooks Illustrated, Spring Entertaining, 2011, their chefs set out to make a better Ziti, leaving the rubbery cheese and dry grainy sauce and mushy pasta behind once and for all. Sometimes these recipes are so scientific and labor intensive to make that I get discouraged, but this one is pretty straight forward and the result is incredible! They switched the commonly used ricotta cheese for cottage cheese, which makes the Ziti nice and creamy, and they used diced mozzarella instead of grated, which makes for stringy ooey-gooey cheese in every bite. I got a pretty late start this evening so I had to shorten the baking time just a little, which didn't make the top quite as browned as I would have liked, but 5 people were pacing around waiting to eat, so I had to get it on the table. And it was a huge hit with everyone, from my 4-year-old to my husband, who said it's the best meatless pasta he has ever had!  I served it with a green salad and ciabatta bread.

Baked Ziti

1 pound whole-milk or 1 percent cottage cheese

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 ounces grated Parmesan cheese, (about 1 1/2 cups)

Salt

1 pound Ziti or other short tubular pasta

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

5 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press

1 (28ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

1 teaspoon sugar

Ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces low-moisture mozzarella cheese, cut into small dice

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk cottage cheese, eggs and 1 cup Parmesan together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, over high heat. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt and pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Drain pasta and leave in colander (save pot). Meanwhile, heat oil and garlic in large skillet over medium heat until garlic is fragrant but not brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and oregano, simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in 1/2 cup basil and sugar, then season with salt and pepper.

Stir cornstarch into heavy cream in small bowl. Transfer mixture to your empty pot set over medium heat. Bring to simmer and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Remove pot from heat and add cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup of the tomato sauce, and 3/4 cup mozzarella, then stir to combine. Add pasta and stir to coat thoroughly with sauce.

Transfer pasta mixture to 13x 9-inch baking dish and spread remaining tomato sauce evenly over pasta. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan over the top.

Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to cook until cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve.

It is suggested that this feeds 8-10 people, but the 6 of us finished it off. My husband and 16 year-old son are both swimmers and they eat a lot!

Short of licking the plate clean, wiping it off with a piece of bread is sooo good!