Baked ziti/penne

[rosefox]

Note: If you feel like planning ahead, soak the blanched almonds overnight in cold water and reduce the added water in step 3 to 1 cup. If you only have raw almonds with the skins on, soak them, drain, cover them with boiling water for two minutes, drain, and then the skins should rub off easily.

Ingredients

1 lb (1.33 bags) ziti or penne pasta
1 jar tomato sauce
0.5 box/bag (about 70g) raw baby spinach, or 0.5 c cooked spinach
6 larger or 8 smaller homemade Italian-style meatballs, or 1 lb sausage
2 cups (about 0.7 lb) blanched almonds, or 1.5 c almond ricotta
Water
Nutmeg
Salt
A few leaves of fresh basil
2 cups grated vegan mozzarella

Equipment

Scale (optional)
Conventional oven with broiler
Stove (2 burners)
Large pot
Medium pot
Strainer
Microwave (for meatballs) or frying pan (for sausage)
Vitamix or other high-speed blender, or food processor
9" x 13" pan
Pie server
Plastic wrap and freezer bag for storing leftovers

Instructions

0) Mise en place. Gather your ingredients and tools. Preheat the oven to 350F. Weigh out the pasta if you really care that much, or just eyeball it.

1) Cook the pasta. Boil water in the large pot and cook pasta until it's just al dente. Drain and toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.

2) Make the sauce. While the pasta is cooking, briefly heat the spinach in the medium pot until it's just wilted. Pour in the sauce and bring to a simmer. Nuke the meatballs or fry the sausage until thoroughly cooked (may need to be done in batches). Chop/crumble the meat and mix it into the tomato sauce. Mix about one third of the sauce mixture into the pasta, then stir in 0.5 c of the shredded mozzarella.

3) Make the ricotta. In the blender on medium-low speed or in the food processor, process the almonds and 1.5 cups water (or 1 cup if you pre-soaked the almonds), frequently stirring with the plunger stick, until it has a ricotta-like texture. Add more water if needed--you want a texture that's creamy but not entirely smooth. Blend in nutmeg, salt, and fresh basil to taste.

4) Layer. Spread half the remaining sauce over the bottom of the pan. Dot with half the ricotta. Put in the pasta. Dot with the rest of the ricotta. Cover with the rest of the sauce, making sure to cover all exposed pieces of pasta. Finish with the rest of the mozzarella.

5) Cook. Bake 20 minutes at 350F, then remove from oven. Use the back of a wooden spoon to spread out/flatten the softened mozzarella. Set the broiler to High and place the pasta pan in the broiler tray. Broil 3 to 4 minutes or until top is nicely browned.

6) Serve and store. Serve in fairly small portions--it's dense! To store, let cool to room temp, then refrigerate uncovered until chilled through and solid. Divide into single portions and wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap. Place portions in a freezer bag, label, and refrigerate or freeze. To reheat a portion, unwrap plastic wrap, place in a microwave-safe container with a lid, optionally sprinkle with more mozzarella, and microwave with lid loosely on until hot all the way through. For crispy browned cheese, transfer to foil and broil in toaster oven 10 minutes or until cheese browns.

Sources:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/baked_ziti/
http://www.macheesmo.com/how-to-freeze-lasagna/