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Though it's March, and spring's still not here in the UK, and I've been griping an awful lot about this fact of late, I have to admit: there's one plus side to the continued lousy weather. With the wet and chill keeping me cooped up indoors, it's the perfect opportunity to cook up some comfort food. Big, hearty meals served up in big, hearty portions -- stews and noodle soups, pot pie and cottage pie and pretty much anything else baked in a casserole dish, foods that invite you to dig in with relish, dishes that warm you up from the inside out. One of my favorite comfort foods is the humble baked ziti (or rigatoni, or penne, or whatever chunky tubular pasta I can manage to scrounge up in my cupboard). No fancy takes on this Italian-American classic for me: I like my baked ziti plain and simple, just pasta and tomato sauce and cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. It's the sort of food that offers absolutely zero in the way of challenging the palate; this, of course, is what makes it so comforting. Offering the ideal balance of crunchy topping to chewy pasta to gooey cheesy tomato sauce, baked ziti always feels good to eat. baked ziti tomato
sauce breadcrumb
topping 1 lb. ziti or other similar
pasta (rigatoni, penne, etc.) time
50-60 minutes to prep, plus 30 minutes for baking sidle along this way for directions and a printer-friendly recipe!
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