Baked Ziti Lunghe with Broccoli
Region: Italy
Category: Pasta-Baked
Season: Any
Difficulty: Easy but long cooking time

When I was a kid one of my favorite dishes from my mom's repertoire was baked ziti.  She didn't quite cook it like this, but this is way I like to do it and when mom ate it she approved. Besides, this is a pretty dish and delicious; the mixture of the broccoli with the remaining ingredients is very nice, especially with a good quality caciocavallo cheese.  Caciocavallo is a hard spun-curd cheese made from cow's milk.  A spun-curd cheese, or pasta filata, is so-called because the drained curd is soaked in hot whey and then in water and finally stretched, molded, and spun by the cheese maker.  Among these string-like cheeses are mozzarella, provolone, and scamorza.  Caciocavallo is hung in the form of two gourds tied together.  Ziti lunghe is simply uncut tubular macaroni in one long strand.  It's actually kind of fun to eat and perfect for a baked pasta dish.  It's the pasta used in the Greek dish called pastitsio.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 4 to 5 servings
Preparation Time: 1 hour

1/2 pound ziti lunghe

1 1/4 pounds broccoli, florets removed, stems saved for another purpose

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and more for drizzling

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 pound caciocavallo, provolone, or scamorza cheese, sliced

2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, salt abundantly then cook the pasta, stirring occasionally.  After 5 minutes, add the broccoli and continue cooking until the pasta is very al dente and the broccoli tender but firm when skewered.  Drain without rinsing. 

3. Transfer the pasta to a bowl and toss the pasta and broccoli with the olive oil, parmigiano, and garlic.  Season lightly with salt and black pepper.  Place in a lightly buttered 5-inch deep round baking dish or oven-proof terrine. 

4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat, then add the flour to form a roux, cooking and stirring for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn the heat off and slowly whisk in the warm milk and cream.  Turn the heat to medium and cook the white sauce until dense, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

5. Layer the caciocavallo cheese over the pasta and cover with the white sauce.  Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and a drizzle of olive oil.  Bake until the top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.  Serve hot.

Variation: 

Note: 

Posted: 12/27/2006

Referenced Recipes:

Pastitsio