What is it?

A basic workday dish. Like lasagna but I’m too lazy to make lasagna. Low effort, high return. Feeds a whole family with plenty to spare.

What do I need?

• A 9×13 baking dish.
• 16 oz package of dry Ziti noodles. Or Penne, or rigatoni, or whatever. Pick what you like. I’m not here to noodle-shame.
• 32 oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce. Not Ragu. I am here to Ragu-shame.
• 1 medium yellow onion, small-diced.
• An appropriate amount of garlic for your taste. I use a whole bulb. Use less if you’re a coward. Minced.
• 1 pound chorizo sausage. Ground beef is also acceptable, but why would you when chorizo is, like, right there. Exclude for a vegetarian option.
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese, smoked is best. Shredded.
• 4 oz parmesan cheese, shredded
• 8 oz ricotta cheese, mushy
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or vodka, whichever one you feel like drinking while the dish is in the oven.
• Any embellishments you want for the sauce. Extra herbs? Some basil, oregano or rosemary would go great. Pepper flakes if you want to add some zing. Freshly ground black pepper is always a go-to.

What do I do?

1. Put a big pot of water over high heat and let it come to a boil while you prepare the sauce. Salt the water generously.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Do not salt the oven.
3. In a large sauté pan, heat a tablespoon-ish of olive oil over medium heat. Toss the onion with a pinch of salt. Cook until soft and starting to brown.
4. Add the garlic. Cook until fragrant and starting to brown.
5. Add the chorizo. Brown thoroughly. Drain off any excess fat.
6. Add the pasta sauce, along with any embellishments. What you want to add will depend on the sauce you’ve chosen. If the sauce is already great, probably don’t need to do too much. If you’re using Ragu or something, probably think about some black pepper, fresh or dried herbs, pepper flakes, that kind of thing. Season to taste, or not at all.
7. Add the wine or vodka and stir in. Alcohol breaks down the pectin in tomatoes, and will make the sauce have a smoother, velvety mouthfeel, as well as a sweeter taste. Not strictly necessary, but you’ll miss it if you don’t.
8. Let the sauce simmer to thicken slightly. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the water that should now be boiling. Cook ’till al dente which is pretentious for “done”. Don’t overcook. You don’t want the noodles mushy. Drain the noodles, and remove the sauce from the heat.
9. Lightly butter the baking dish. Put a layer of about half the noodles across the bottom. Then a layer of about half the sauce. Layer on half the mozzarella. Spread the ricotta cheese as evenly as you can.
10. Next another layer of noodles. Make sure they lay as flat as possible, you don’t want any poking up. Layer the rest of the sauce over it. Then a layer of the rest of the mozzarella, and a layer of the shredded parmesan. NOTE: Make sure to completely cover the noodles. Any noodles that aren’t covered by sauce and cheese are going to burn in the oven.
11. Put it in the oven, bake ’till the cheese on top is looking bubbly, about 20-30 minutes.
12. CONSUME.