Welcome food

Over the years, whenever we made a trip to visit Grandma Pina and Grandpa Guy in New York, there was always one constant: a big dish of baked ziti waiting for us when we got there, perfuming the whole house with the wonderful smell, including just a hint of nutmeg. We've had a lot of baked ziti at our house, too, but it's never the same as Grandma Pina's. I don't use dollops of ricotta in mine, like she did (unless I happen to have some ricotta left over from some other use), but that's not the difference. It was just a lot of pure Italian love that went into that dish, like everything else Grandma Pina made, and you could taste it in every bite. It was the ultimate welcome home.

Baked Ziti

Time: 1:15 (<30 minutes prep time, ~45 minutes cooking time)

This is my Quick Tomato Sauce, which I play around with when I get bored. Sometimes I add a tablespoon of tomato paste along with the garlic to boost the umami flavor; sometimes I deglaze the pan with some red wine before adding the tomatoes. Whatever you're in the mood for. If there's no vegetarians lurking around, you can brown some ground beef, veal, and/or pork in the saucepan before adding the tomatoes for an extra treat.

Sauce
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or butter or a mixture
1 small shallot, minced (~2 tablespoons)
¼ teaspoon dried oregano; or 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon basil chiffonade, optional

Ziti
1 to 2 tablespoons fine sea salt
1 pound penne, ziti, or other tubular pasta
8 ounces mozzarella, shredded
⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

     1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large stockpot. Grease the bottom and sides of 13-by-9-inch baking dish.
    2. For the sauce: Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and/or butter in a saucier pan or large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallot, oregano, and red pepper flakes, and cook until the shallot is softened but not browned, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and kosher salt. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer, then cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Just before assembling the ziti, stir in the basil, if using, and taste and adjust for salt.
    3. While the sauce is cooking, add the fine sea salt to the boiling water in the stockpot and stir to dissolve. Add the pasta and stir a few times during the first minute or two to keep it from sticking. Cook until the pasta is a minute or two short of al dente, then drain, reserving a mugful of the cooking water. Combine the pasta and the sauce and toss to coat well. Add pasta cooking water as needed to adjust the consistency—the sauce should be thinner than usual to help finish cooking the pasta in the oven.
    4. To assemble: Put half of the pasta into the baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Grate just a little bit of fresh nutmeg over the top. Scrape in the remaining pasta and sauce, then sprinkle over the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, depending how much you like crunchy pieces of pasta at the top of your ziti. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.