Zucchini and sausage savory pie
- tastycorner
Baked ziti with sausage and leek ragù
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: 30 min
- Cook time: 1 h 30 min
- Serving: 4
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PRESENTATION
Baked ziti with sausage and leek ragù is the kind of pasta bake that earns its place at a Sunday lunch table — substantial, deeply savory, and built for sharing. The ragù is white, scented with wine, sage, and rosemary, and the bold character of the sausage finds a quiet counterpart in the soft, aromatic leeks. Zite are a long, thick pasta with a rough surface that grips a chunky ragù exceptionally well, and that quality matters here: every forkful carries the sauce rather than letting it slide away. The result is a dish that feels genuinely generous without being heavy-handed.
Béchamel runs through the layers, keeping everything creamy as it bakes, while scamorza tucked between the pasta turns properly stringy in the oven. A Parmigiano Reggiano crust forms on top, going golden and a little crisp at the edges. Together, the cheeses do different jobs — one melts into the layers, the other seals and finishes the surface — and the contrast between them is part of what makes this pasta bake worth coming back to. If you are planning a relaxed lunch where a big, shareable dish belongs in the center of the table, this is the one to make.
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- INGREDIENTS
- Ziti 1.1 lbs (500 g)
- Sausage 1.3 lbs (600 g)
- Leeks 1.5 lbs (700 g)
- Red wine 3.5 oz (100 g)
- Tomato paste 4 tsp (20 g)
- Water 1.3 cups (300 g)
- Béchamel sauce 3.3 cups (800 g)
- Smoked scamorza cheese 3.5 oz (100 g)
- Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese 1.5 oz (40 g)
- Rosemary to taste
- Sage to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil to taste
- Fine salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Preparation
How to prepare Baked ziti with sausage and leek ragù
To prepare the baked ziti with sausage and leek ragù, start by cleaning the leeks: trim the base, remove the outermost leaves and slice the white part 1. Cut the green part into pieces 2, rinse well and toast it in a hot pot for about 6 to 7 minutes 3.
When the leek trimmings are well heated and toasted, pour in 1 1/4 cups of water 4 and let everything simmer gently for about 30 minutes to make the broth 5. Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a saucepan 6.
Add the white part of the leek, sliced into rounds, and a pinch of salt 7, then sweat for about 10 minutes over low heat until it is cooked through and soft, then remove from the heat 8. In the same saucepan where you cooked the leek, add another drizzle of oil 9.
Add the sausage pieces 10 and let them brown well over medium heat for about 7–8 minutes until nicely browned 11. Then add the tomato paste 12.
Stir thoroughly and add back into the pot the leek you had set aside 13, immediately deglazing everything with the wine 14. At this point the broth prepared from the leek trimmings will be ready 15.
Strain it through a sieve 16 17. Moisten the ragù with the leek broth 18.
Let it cook and reduce for about twenty minutes together with a small bouquet of sage and rosemary 19. Only at the end 20 season with salt, tasting to check the seasoning, and add a sprinkle of pepper. Once ready, combine it with the béchamel 21.
Mix well to combine all the ingredients 22. Break the ziti in half 23 and cook them in plenty of salted boiling water for about 5 minutes 34.
Drain them directly into the bowl with the sauce 25. Take a baking dish and arrange a first layer of pasta 26, distributing some of the grated scamorza on top 27.
Continue with a second layer of pasta and finish with the remaining scamorza and grated Parmigiano Reggiano 28. Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 356°F for 10 minutes, then raise the temperature to 428°F, activate the grill function and continue cooking for 5 minutes to perfectly brown the surface 29. Remember to wait about ten minutes before serving the baked ziti with sausage and leek ragù 30.
Storage
Tip
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