Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce

Every Italian-American family claims theirs is the definitive baked ziti. They're all correct. This is not a dish that demands orthodoxy. It demands generosity. Generous layers of meat sauce that's simmered long enough to meld. Generous dollops of ricotta lightened with egg and fresh herbs. Generous handfuls of mozzarella that pull into those satisfying strings when you serve it.

The origins trace back to Southern Italian immigrants who arrived in America and discovered something remarkable: affordable beef. Back home, meat was precious, rationed into sauces a few ounces at a time. Here, they could build a proper ragù, rich with ground beef and sweet Italian sausage, simmered until the tomatoes surrendered their acidity and turned sweet.

I've made this dish for crowds of forty and for Tuesday night suppers of two. The method doesn't change. You build your sauce with patience, letting it bubble gently while you handle the rest. You mix your ricotta with egg so it sets rather than weeps. You slightly undercook your pasta because it finishes in the oven. These aren't fussy steps. They're the difference between a dish that's merely good and one that becomes the reason people accept your dinner invitations.

This improves overnight. Make it Saturday, refrigerate it, bake it Sunday. The flavors deepen. The layers bind. Your only job on serving day is sliding it into the oven and accepting compliments.