Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
Scuderi Kids' Fast, Fake-Baked Ziti
- Level: Easy
- Total: 45 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Cook: 25 min
- Yield: 6 servings
Share This Recipe
- Level: Easy
- Total: 45 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Cook: 25 min
- Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
Directions
- Put pasta water on to boil.
- In a medium sauce pot over medium heat, saute garlic in extra-virgin olive oil. Chop whole tomatoes and add them to the pan. Add crushed tomatoes and salt and simmer 10 minutes, add basil and simmer over low heat 10 minutes more.
- Add salt and pasta to boiling water and cook 6 minutes, leaving pasta a little chewy.
- While pasta cooks, melt butter in a small pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour, then cook 1 minute, adding salt and pepper and nutmeg to flour. Add milk and bring sauce to a bubble. Reduce 5 minutes.
- Drain pasta and transfer to a large flameproof casserole dish. Pour the tomato and basil sauce over the pasta and turn to coat the pasta. Pour the bechamel over the already coated pasta. Cover the top of the pasta with Asiago, Parmesan and mozzarella. Place the casserole under hot broiler and melt the 3 cheeses until brown and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately with Spinach and Artichoke Salad and bread.
Spinach and Artichoke Salad:
- 3/4 pound, 4 to 5 cups, baby spinach, packed
- 2 (15-ounce) cans artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and sliced
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- A handful shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Combine spinach and artichokes. Place garlic, lemon zest and juice in small dish and add vinegar. Let it stand 5 minutes then whisk in extra-virgin olive oil. Pour oil and vinegar dressing over salad and toss to combine. Season the salad with salt and pepper, to your taste. Top the salad with cheese then serve.
My Private Notes
Show:
30 Minute Meals
Episode:
Plenty to Go Around
Categories:
More from:
Kids' Weeknight Dinners
Looking for Something Else?
235 Reviews
Sort by
- Most recent
- Oldest
- Most voted
- Ratings
AnonymousSeptember 11, 2022
I’ve been making this for more than 18 years! It’s one of the earliest recipes I learned at the age of 12. I made it for my parents and they were very impressed. I definitely suggest trying this with your kids. If I got so much inspiration from it then, I can only imagine now how it will be to kids now.
samanthaneville1August 2, 2021
Fabulous! We make it all the time. I love the creamy sauce and the fresh basil.
gub72000April 21, 2021
Eh, it was okay. Not the greatest ziti ever.
Mark JourdanFebruary 3, 2021
This is a new family favorite. The sauce has so much flavor! Took about an hour from start to finish. But worth all the work! We will be making it again soon.
AnonymousJune 28, 2018
Family favorite. Easy ingredients and it all quickly comes together .
Lisa T.May 6, 2018
This has been a family favorite since one of your books came out a long time ago! Sometimes I add slices Italian sausage to this.
AnonymousMay 19, 2014
For three pots and a casserole dish to clean, it should taste MUCH better.
rehbornrMarch 3, 2014
This is my favorite ziti recipe! I made this for my son's birthday party and everyone loved it. Sometimes I used a jar of red sauce and skip the first directions with the tomatoes. The bechemel is a must, as well as quality asiago cheese! This makes the dish!
MomiFebruary 13, 2014
Yummy! Great recipe. I did make some changes, only because we're in a winter storm so I had to use what I had on hand. Instead of using a can of whole peeled and crushed tomatoes, I had Italian Stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce. I seasoned the red sauce with some onion powder and 2 cubes of cilantro bullion. Since some ratings mentioned there was a bit to much liquid, I used about 1/2 tbsp more of the butter and flour than what the original recipe called for. I also didn't have asiago cheese so I used provolone instead. The dish came out great. I will definitely make this again.
AnonymousFebruary 5, 2014
What a great recipe. Especially if you know how to cook. By this I mean it's excellent for adjusting to individual taste or what's in your kitchen. Meat or any chopped vegetable (zucchini, yum) to the red sauce while it's cooking. Cream cheese instead of the bechamel sauce. Italian seasonings for basil. The possibilities are almost endless. I would have given this a 5 star but "as is" it uses too many pans to be 100% family friendly.
👩🍳 What's Cooking
HGTV Dream Home
Enter daily, once on HGTV and once on Food Network, for your chance to win HGTV Dream Home 2022, a grand-prize package valued at over $2.4 million!
