Baked Ziti 
Serves 6-8
 
1 lb. Ziti Pasta
4 cups Marinara Sauce
1 lb. whole milk Ricotta, drained
1 ball of mozzarella cheese shredded
1 ½ cups Parmigiano Reggiano
1 egg
9 basil leaves, chiffonade, or 2 tsp. dried
2 Tablespoons of parsley leaves, minced 
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper.
½ LB. Italian ground fennel sausage, cooked (optional)
 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt and Ziti. Cook the pasta until just slight of al dente, about 8 minutes, drain and set aside.  
In another sauce pan, heat Marinara Sauce and bring to simmer. Stir in 1 ½ cups of Marinara Sauce to the cooked pasta.
In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, parsley, and basil, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use. 
Spread ½ cup of sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9 with 2 inch sides baking dish.  
Layer half of the cooked ziti on top of the sauce, ½ the sausage if using and ½ of ricotta filling.   
Repeat with layers with the rest of the ziti, ½ cup sauce, sausage, and ricotta filing. Ladle one or two scoops of sauce to cover the pasta layers. 
Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmigiano cheese and garnish with minced parsley.
Bake, uncovered, until browned and bubbly, about 30-40 minutes. 
Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving