Baked Ziti

Ingredients

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• 1 lb dry whole-wheat ziti
• 1 tsp salt, for the pasta water
• Cooking spray, for the dish
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ lb 97% lean ground beef
• 2 cups cooked brown lentils, drained
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 jar (24 oz) low-sodium marinara sauce
• 1 can (28 oz) no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
• 1 container (8 oz, 227 g) part-skim ricotta
• 1 egg
• ½ cup (2 oz, 57 g) shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided
• ¼ cup grated reduced-fat Parmesan

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 375 °F. Spray a 9 × 13-inch dish. Boil the ziti in a big pot of water with the 1 tsp salt. Water boils at about 203 °F a mile up, so go by the bite, not the clock, and drain it while it still has a firm center, about 2 minutes short of the package time. Drain it and leave it in the colander.
2. 2Put the same pot back over medium-high heat with the oil. Cook the beef and onion, breaking the beef up, until no pink is left and the onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic powder, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning for 1 minute.
3. 3Pour in the marinara and the crushed tomatoes, add the lentils, and stir until it bubbles. Add the drained ziti and stir until every piece is coated.
4. 4Stir the ricotta, egg, ¼ cup (28 g) of the mozzarella and the Parmesan together in a bowl. Spread half the pasta in a 9 × 13-inch dish. Dot with the ricotta mix, then cover with the rest of the pasta.
5. 5Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, scatter on the remaining ¼ cup mozzarella, and bake 15 minutes more, until the cheese is browned in spots and the sauce bubbles at the edges.
6. 6The egg and the beef both call for a hot center: an instant-read thermometer in the middle should read 160 °F. Rest 10 minutes before cutting so it holds its shape.
7. 7Cool leftovers no more than 2 hours, then refrigerate. Reheat portions to 165 °F.