Preparing the Baked Pasta: A Step-by-Step Guide

The first step in preparing the baked pasta is to brown some Italian sweet sausage. This will add flavor to the dish, so it's essential to cut up the sausage a little bit so that every bite of pasta gets a little bit of flavor. While the sausage is browning, grab some broccoli and set it aside. The next step is to put the greens in the baked pasta, which means adding the broccoli on top of the sausage.

Cutting the Broccoli

To add the broccoli to the dish, simply cut it up into small pieces and toss them onto the sausage. A little bit of salt will season the broccoli, making it taste even better. Now that the broccoli is in place, it's time to add some garlic. Smash the garlic and peel the skin off of it, then proceed with the next step.

Adding the Marinara Sauce

The marinara sauce is a crucial component of the dish, and it's essential to use a good quality store-bought or homemade sauce. Make sure that all of the broccoli and sausage get a little bit of the sauce, as this will add flavor to the entire dish. Now that the sauce is in place, it's time to add the pasta.

Adding the Pasta

The pasta will only cook for a very little amount of time, like 5 minutes, because it will finish cooking in the dish. This way, you don't overcook the pasta, and it still has a bit of bite to it. There are many types of pasta that can be used for this recipe, but batoni is my personal favorite due to its little tube shape with lines on it.

Adding the Ricotta Cheese

Once the pasta is in place, grab a cup of ricotta cheese and prepare to add it to the dish. The ricotta will be dolled up inside the baked pasta, making it fun to eat. Chop some fresh basil and mix it with the ricotta cheese, then season it with a little bit of salt.

Assembling the Dish

Now that all the ingredients are ready, assemble the dish by adding the pasta to a baking pan. Add about a half cup of pasta water to the pan, as this will add moisture and help cook the broccoli. Grate some parmesan cheese and sprinkle it on top of the pasta. Now it's time to toss everything together and let the pasta continue to cook in the sauce.

Adding the Mozzarella Cheese

The final step is to add a layer of mozzarella cheese on top of the pasta. This will create a cheesy crust, which is essential for a delicious baked pasta dish. Make sure to sprinkle some shredded mozzarella on top of all the batoni, as this will help bind everything together.

Baking the Pasta

Finally, pop the pasta into a 400° oven for 20 minutes until all the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. This is the final step in preparing the baked pasta dish. With these simple steps, you can create a delicious and satisfying meal that everyone will enjoy.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI'm Browning some Italian sweet sausage so you just want to cut up the sausage a little bit so every bite of pasta gets a little bit of flavor so while that finishes off grab some broccoli so I'm going to put my Greens in the baked pasta so you just want to cut it up okay let's take all the broccoli and toss it right on top of the sausage little bit of salt to season it and then we're going to take some garlic just smash it and just peel the skin off of it time for the sauce so I just have some marinara you can always use store bot your favorite jar sauce just make sure that all of the broccoli and the sausage gets a little bit of the sauce I am going to throw my pasta in and the pasta is only going to cook for a very little amount of time like 5 minutes because it's going to finish cooking in the dish that way you don't overcook the pasta it's still got a little bit of a a bite to it and we're going to make batoni which are my little favorite little tube pasta with lines on it there we go pastas in so I've got a cup of ricotta cheese and I have some mozzarella that I'm going to put on top of the pasta once we're done I'm going to take some fresh basil and we're going to chop the basil add it to the deot cheese because we're going to doll up a little bit of ricota like little hidden gems inside the baked pasta which I think it'll be fun to eat okay basil in and a little bit of salt to season it mix it all together okay that's done now let's check on our pasta I'm not going to taste it cuz it's not cooked yet there we go but it's got a nice texture to it going to add it right into the pan I need my Ladle we're going to do about a half a cup of pasta water remember the pasta water adds that little extra moisture that we need to uh cook the broccoli we're going to grate some parano theano cheese perfect okay so now just toss everything together and see the pasta continues to cook in here and it absorbs all the flavors of the sausage and the sauce so I take theot the cheese and I take some dollops of it and we're just going to dollop it in different parts and then I'll just sort of hide it with the rest rest of the pasta just cover it up take some of the pasta and just cover it up cuz the ricotta will melt slightly but it won't melt like a mozzarella that's why I like it inside instead of on top add the mozzarella to get a nice sort of cheesy crust on top so just some shredded mozzarella make sure it's on top of all of the ratoni look at that we're going to pop this in a 400° oven for 20 minutes until all the cheese is melted and we get a nice cheesy Golden Crust on topI'm Browning some Italian sweet sausage so you just want to cut up the sausage a little bit so every bite of pasta gets a little bit of flavor so while that finishes off grab some broccoli so I'm going to put my Greens in the baked pasta so you just want to cut it up okay let's take all the broccoli and toss it right on top of the sausage little bit of salt to season it and then we're going to take some garlic just smash it and just peel the skin off of it time for the sauce so I just have some marinara you can always use store bot your favorite jar sauce just make sure that all of the broccoli and the sausage gets a little bit of the sauce I am going to throw my pasta in and the pasta is only going to cook for a very little amount of time like 5 minutes because it's going to finish cooking in the dish that way you don't overcook the pasta it's still got a little bit of a a bite to it and we're going to make batoni which are my little favorite little tube pasta with lines on it there we go pastas in so I've got a cup of ricotta cheese and I have some mozzarella that I'm going to put on top of the pasta once we're done I'm going to take some fresh basil and we're going to chop the basil add it to the deot cheese because we're going to doll up a little bit of ricota like little hidden gems inside the baked pasta which I think it'll be fun to eat okay basil in and a little bit of salt to season it mix it all together okay that's done now let's check on our pasta I'm not going to taste it cuz it's not cooked yet there we go but it's got a nice texture to it going to add it right into the pan I need my Ladle we're going to do about a half a cup of pasta water remember the pasta water adds that little extra moisture that we need to uh cook the broccoli we're going to grate some parano theano cheese perfect okay so now just toss everything together and see the pasta continues to cook in here and it absorbs all the flavors of the sausage and the sauce so I take theot the cheese and I take some dollops of it and we're just going to dollop it in different parts and then I'll just sort of hide it with the rest rest of the pasta just cover it up take some of the pasta and just cover it up cuz the ricotta will melt slightly but it won't melt like a mozzarella that's why I like it inside instead of on top add the mozzarella to get a nice sort of cheesy crust on top so just some shredded mozzarella make sure it's on top of all of the ratoni look at that we're going to pop this in a 400° oven for 20 minutes until all the cheese is melted and we get a nice cheesy Golden Crust on top\n"