Sausage Ziti Bake with Spinach and Ricotta

Heat the oven to 375°F and bring a large pot of water to a boil for the ziti.

If the spinach isn't labeled prewashed, rinse it under cool running water and drain thoroughly. Remove any thick stems and roughly chop larger leaves.

For this step: spinach

Meanwhile, peel and dice the onion and peel and mince the garlic. Remove the casings from the sausage.

For this step: yellow onion, garlic, Italian sausage

Heat the oil in a wide saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the sausage and onion. Cook, breaking up the meat, until browned and the largest pieces reach 160°F, 8 to 10 minutes. Spoon off the excess fat.

For this step: olive oil

Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

For this step: tomato paste

Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper and salt. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and simmer gently until slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.

For this step: crushed tomatoes, dried oregano, crushed red pepper, salt

Meanwhile, add the ziti to the boiling water and cook until pliable but still firm in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. It will finish cooking in the oven.

For this step: ziti

While the sauce and ziti cook, squeeze the spinach firmly in a clean towel until it stops dripping. Shred the mozzarella, and stir the ricotta and parmesan together in a bowl.

For this step: mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, grated parmesan

Drain the ziti. Take the sauce off the heat, stir in the spinach until evenly mixed, then fold in the ziti.

Spread half the pasta mixture in a baking dish where it will all sit about 2 inches deep (a 9 × 13-inch dish holds 6 servings), dot it with half the ricotta mixture and scatter over half the mozzarella. Repeat with the rest of the pasta, ricotta mixture and mozzarella.

Cover the dish with foil, tenting it above the cheese so it doesn't stick, and bake until the center is hot, 20 minutes.

Uncover and bake until bubbling and browned in spots, 10 to 15 minutes more.

Let the ziti rest until the sauce settles around the pasta, 5 minutes, then spoon it onto plates, keeping some browned cheese on each serving.