BAKED SPAGHETTI RICOTTA RECIPES

Steps:

• Grease a baking dish and heat the oven. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350°F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Cook the pasta. Add the spaghetti and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook according to package directions until the spaghetti is al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sauce.
• Brown the beef and make the sauce. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the beef and use a stiff spatula to break it up into large pieces. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and let the meat brown undisturbed 4 to 5 minutes. Break the meat up into smaller pieces with the spatula and continue to cook until the beef is mostly browned with no pink showing, 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat and stir in the marinara.
• Drain the pasta and cool slightly. When the pasta is ready, drain but do not rinse. Let cool for 5 minutes, just long enough to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
• Make the ricotta layer. While the pasta is cooling, stir the ricotta, Italian seasoning, and garlic together in a small bowl.
• Whisk together the egg and Parmesan cheese. Place the eggs and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the drained and cooled spaghetti and toss to coat.
• Layer the spaghetti, ricotta mixture, meat sauce, and mozzarella. Place 1/2 of the pasta mixture in the baking dish in an even layer. Dollop with 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, then spread with a spatula. Spoon 1/2 of the meat sauce over the ricotta, then sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients.
• Bake covered 30 minutes, then 10 to 15 minutes uncovered. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook until the edges are bubbling and the cheese is melted and browned in spots, 10 to 15 minutes more. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. Let cool 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Crumble sausage into skillet, using a spoon to break it into small pieces. Cook until starting to brown, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, oregano, fennel seeds and red-pepper flakes (if using), and cook another 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir in whole tomatoes and their juice, using a spoon to break them up. Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaves and 2 teaspoons salt, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken slightly.
• Stir in pasta and 1 cup water and return to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, pluck out the bay leaves, and fold in about a third of the mozzarella.
• Top pasta with remaining mozzarella and dollops of ricotta. Sprinkle with Parmesan, then transfer to oven. Bake until pasta is tender when poked with a fork, and cheese is bubbly and lightly golden, 18 to 22 minutes. (If you’d like a more deeply browned topping, run the pan under the broiler for 1 or 2 minutes.) Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Top with basil, plenty of black pepper, and more red-pepper flakes, if you like.