Italian-Americans have a cuisine that is distinctly their own, based on adaptation of ingredients available to their immigrant forefathers when they arrived in the United States. This is a staple of the Italian-American table.

INGREDIENTS | SERVES 10

• 1 box (1 pound) ziti
• Olive oil
• 1 quart tomato sauce
• 1 pound whole milk or part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 pound whole milk or part-skim mozzarella, shredded
• Chopped Italian parsley

1. Prepare ziti al dente according to package directions; drain, rinse, and toss with a few drops of olive oil.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9″ × 13″ baking pan with half of the tomato sauce.

3. Distribute half of the cooked ziti into the pan. Distribute the ricotta by the tablespoonful onto the ziti, and then sprinkle on half of the shredded cheese. Layer on the remaining ziti.

4. Cover the top with most of the remaining sauce, saving about ½ cup for later — the top layer does not need to be even — or use all the remaining sauce to cover the pasta completely. Sprinkle on remaining shredded cheese.

5. Bake 25 minutes until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. Serve with additional tomato sauce on the side, garnished with chopped parsley.