Why do I use “commercial” to describe this dish? Because it was designed to enable 100 different people to individually prepare and package 10 servings of consistent taste and quality to be delivered, ready to be heated and served by a completely different group of people. But don’t worry about having to eat a massive amount of second rate pasta – It’s delicious and I’ve scaled it down for you!
Let me explain.
Twice each month, each and every month for the last 43 years various and ever changing groups and individuals have served between 400 and 800 meals, free of charge, to the needy of Trenton New Jersey. Called, “Loaves and Fishes”, it is a small group of folks with a long standing agreement to prepare and deliver meals from Saint Mary’s Cathedral basement kitchen. A person called Barbara Ann Cagey along with a small group of regular participants have somehow managed to convince local charitable organizations, businesses, churches and private individuals to prepare and deliver up to 800 meals on two Saturdays of each and every month since 1978! Each volunteer group is assigned a date and their job is to select a meal and then get lots of individual participants to each prepare small amounts of food in their own kitchens. Then they deliver that food, ready to be heated, to the cathedral. More volunteers do the heating and serving. Many hands making light work!
When a group I work with decided to support this effort we created the recipe for Commercial Baked Ziti With Meat Sauce. Now Chef Hacker Land is populated by folks who pride themselves in having both the desire and the skills to avoid using prepared ingredients. Further, my Italian mother would not be proud to see her boy opening a jar of “gravy”. But who among the citizens of this land of culinary delight has not at one time or another been tasked with feeding a ton of folks on short notice? And how many of us have fielded a vague request for an easy recipe from a kitchen newbie? Finally, what do we do when that unexpected last minute work request eats up the time we planned to spend preparing bouillabaisse for our dinner party? Well, it’s those times when we need to stand secure in our ability to cook from the ground up but also to acknowledge that sometimes the best recipe is the one that ensures good hot food that our guests can enjoy along with both a glass of wine AND the company of a chef who is not suffering from stress-induced fatigue. Thanks to a typical “doctor it up” hack and going against tradition by adding meat to this baked pasta dish, this recipe delivers. So don’t be a scratch Chef snob. Give it a try and tell me what you think. Or better yet, apply a hack of your own and share it with us!
Commercial Ziti With Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ziti Or your favorite short pasta
- 24 oz Jarred Tomato Pasta Sauce
- 1 lb Lean Ground Beef Meat/Fat ratio of 90/10 or 85/15
- 15 oz Ricotta Cheese
- 8 oz Shredded Mozzarella
- 4 oz Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
- ½ oz Italian Seasoning Or mix rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley
- Few Drops Olive Oil
- 1 Egg
- Garlic Powder or Gariic Salt
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cook Ziti as described on the box for Al dente. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet and add ground beef in small amounts. Sprinkle beef with a small amount of salt, pepper and garlic powder and saute' beef until brown and fully cooked. Once fully cooked, transfer meat to a separate bowl by using a slotted spoon to lift the meat from the rendered fat. Discard the fat.
- Combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, the egg, salt, pepper, Italian Seasoning, some of the grated cheese, one and a half cups of pasta sauce and the cooked beef in a large bowl and stir to combine to a uniform consistency.
- Add the cooked Ziti, mix well and transfer to a shallow pan.
- Spread remaining pasta sauce on Ziti and sprinkle with grated cheese and Italian Seasoning.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until temperature in the center of the pan reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit and the top is slightly browned.
- Serve, optionally with additional sauce and grated cheese.
Today for the very first time I came to know about this recipe through your post. I never before had tried it ever but looking at the picture I am excited to try making it myself. Thank you for putting up the steps.
Thanks for the comment. If you do give it a try I hope you like the dish. Your quichentell.com site looks interesting. Thanks again.