Ziti with Quick Italian Sauce with Basil Black Pepper Parmesan Cheese and Red Wine Inspired by Tony Danza’s favorite pasta dish, recreated by Mario Batali

Ingredients:

1 pound Barilla ziti

1⁄2 cup fi nely chopped basil

Black pepper

1⁄2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Italian sauce:

1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 Spanish onion, fi nely diced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup dry red wine

3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme,

or 1 tablespoon dried

1⁄2 medium carrot, fi nely shredded

2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole san marzano

tomatoes

Kosher salt, to taste

For the sauce:

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook for 5 minutes more, or until the carrot is quite soft. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and

cook until reduced by 50 percent, 8-10 minutes. Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add them and their juices to the pot. Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.  Season with salt and set aside.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and add 2 tablespoons salt. Drop the ziti into the boiling water and cook until just al dente, drain.

Toss the ziti in to the pan with the sauce, add the basil and season well with black pepper. Divide among 6 warmed pasta bowls, top with Parmigiano and serve immediately.

Notes and Tips:

Don’t rinse! Pasta should not be rinsed after cooking, except for cold pasta salad recipes. The natural starches released

from pasta complements the pasta meal because they help “bind” the sauce that is to be used, and allows the sauce to adhere better to the pasta.