Ingredients
The following ingredients have 4 Servings
- 6 garlic cloves (minced)
- 4 teaspoons olive oil (divided)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups water
- 12 ounces ziti pasta (3¾ cups)
- 4 ounces 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (divided)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
Instruction
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 475 degrees.
- Combine 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet and saute over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add crushed tomatoes, water, ziti and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until ziti is almost tender, 12-15 minutes. Make sure you don't cook it too much. It will continue to cook in the oven.
- While the pasta is cooking, combine ricotta, remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
- Stir in cream, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and basil into the pasta and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- At this point if your skillet is not ovensafe, transfer the pasta mixture into a shallow 2-quart casserole dish before sprinkling with the ricotta and cheese and baking. If you're really against turning on the oven you could cover the skillet with a lid and melt the cheese that way but it won't get browned and toasty.
- Add dollops of the ricotta mixture with a spoon on top of the pasta and sprinkle mozzarella evenly over ziti.
- Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 5-10 minutes. Let cool slightly and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of basil. Serve.
