Baked Ziti

Béchamel Sauce

2 Tbls butter

2 large garlic cloves minced

2 Tbls four

2 Cups whole milk warmed

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups finely grated parmesan cheese

Red Sauce

1 Tbls olive oil

1 ounce pancetta (optional)

2 Tbls tomato paste

40 ounces of my Traditional Red Sauce

1/4 cup basil shredded

Other ingredients

1 lbs dried Ziti noodles

1 lbs fresh mozzarella cheese ball cut in large chunks

1/2 cup parmesan cheese finely shredded for the top of the pasta at the end

Instructions:

Boil ziti noodles in salted boiling water for 8 minutes. Strain and add a little olive oil to cool.

Bechamel sauce:

in a large pan melt butter on low, when melted add garlic. Cook a few minutes, don't burn.

Add in Flour, stir and cook a few minutes on low to cook out the flour taste,

Slowly whisk in a little of the warm milk, whisking at all times until all the milk is all in and combined and no lumps.

Add salt and pepper to taste, boil then light simmer for 8 minutes until thickened.

Take off the heat and add the 2 cups parmesan cheese. Mix until melted.

Pour in a large bowl to cool.

Red Sauce:

In the large sauce pan cook pancetta with 1 Tbls olive oil until brown. Drain and set aside.

In same pan, cook the tomato paste in some of the pancetta oil, until blended and cooked 1 minute,

Add some of the traditional red sauce to blend with the tomato paste.

Take off heat, Add all the red sauce, pancetta, paste and basil to large bowl.

Let cool completely if you are going to cook it later. Or just assemble and cook.

Assemble:

Preheat stove to 350 degrees

Spray a 9x13 pan with pam.

Mix the ziti pasta, béchamel sauce and large chunks of mozzarella in a large bowl.

Put some red sauce down on the bottom of the 9x13 pan. Save 1 cup for the top of the pasta.

Add some pasta béchamel sauce mixture on top and repeat until all the red sauce and pasta is used up, except for the 1 cup of red sauce.

Top the pasta with dollops of 1 cup of red sauce and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes if cooking right away until bubbly,

Broil at the end for around 4 minutes.

If you will bake it later from refrigerator:

Cover dish with an oiled piece of aluminum foil and refrigerate. When ready to serve, bake covered at 400 degrees for 30 mins. Then, uncover and bake an additional 20-30. minutes or until sauce is bubbling around the edges and ziti is heated throughout.

You can broil the last 4 minutes to brown the cheese.