Baked Ziti with Pesto

• Recipe by Quick From Scratch Pasta

Because it's baked, this pasta takes a bit longer from kitchen to table than other dishes in this book. You'll find the preparation time, though, is just as short as that of any other recipe here.

Ingredients

1. 1/2 pound ziti
2. 2 tablespoons cooking oil
3. 1 onion, chopped
4. 2 cloves garlic, minced
5. 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree
6. 1/4 teaspoon salt
7. 1 bay leaf
8. 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
9. 1 cup ricotta cheese
10. 1 1/2 cups grated, packaged mozzarella cheese
11. 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12. 1/4 cup store-bought or homemade pesto

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350°. Oil an 8-by-8-inch baking dish.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta for 7 minutes. It will be partially cooked. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again thoroughly.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, salt, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat and cook until very thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Remove the bay leaf.
4. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, about half the Parmesan, the pesto, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
5. Put half of the cooked pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with about a third of the tomato sauce. Spread the ricotta mixture on the sauce in an even layer. Cover with the remaining pasta and then the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and the remaining Parmesan. Drizzle with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil. Bake until bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting.