Italian-American Baked Ziti with Beef Ragu and Ricotta

What you need

• 450 g (1 lb) ziti
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 450 g (1 lb) ground beef
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
• 800 g (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, 1 large can
• 1 tsp salt, plus more for the pasta water
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 425 g (15 oz) ricotta
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 60 g (3/4 cup) parmesan, grated, divided
• 340 g (3 cups) low-moisture mozzarella, shredded, divided
• 1 handful fresh basil, leaves torn

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F).

2. 2

   Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and onion and cook, breaking up the meat, until no pink remains and the onion is soft, 8-10 min.

3. 3

   Stir in the garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 min.

4. 4

   Add the tomatoes, salt and black pepper. Simmer, partly covered, for 15 min, stirring now and then.

5. 5

   Meanwhile, boil the ziti in well-salted water for 2 min less than the packet time. Drain.

6. 6

   In a bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, parsley and half the parmesan.

7. 7

   Stir the ziti into the meat sauce.

8. 8

   Spread half the pasta in a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in) baking dish. Dot with spoonfuls of the ricotta mix and scatter over a third of the mozzarella.

9. 9

   Cover with the rest of the pasta, then top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan.

10. 10

    Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake 20 min.

11. 11

    Remove the foil and keep baking until the cheese is bubbling and browned in spots, 10-15 min.

12. 12

    Rest for 10 min, then scatter with basil and serve.

Imported from cookedbyjulie.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.