Tackling Bittman: Baking His Ziti!

This Ziti was so good my family never even knew it was gluten free!

The Amazing Cookbook by The New York Times Food Writer and Minimalist Mark Bittman

Please stop by my newest blog feature, Baby Steps to a Rockin’ Life From the Middle of the Road, to get weekly tips and life hacks to help you move in the right direction! Each week I welcome 4 wonderful guest bloggers so please stop by to see who is taking baby steps with me and joining the Slow-vo-lution! Yep, the slow lane will certainly get you there, and the scenery is much nicer! Also, if you are interested in joining in a Tackling Bittman Recipe Roundup, please visit Girlichef for the details and submit your recipes before January 31st and you could win a copy of the new Mark Bittman The Food Matters Cookbook!

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I have come to a realization. It was a bit hard to swallow, but I think we all need to listen to our bodyies when they are speaking to us. I have been getting progressively worse heartburn to the point where, it isn’t indigestion any more, but a throat that is on fire! I used to get it occasionally and take a homeopathic tummy soother or a cup of ginger or peppermint tea and it would be all better, but lately, it has been getting to the point that even those things are not soothing it and I had to take some Mylanta about a week ago just to sleep.

Being a foodie, this upset me terribly because, oh, how food makes me HAPPY! What a joy I have cooking, sharing and eating with my family and friends and what a joy I have discovering new foods. Well, I decided that this would NOT do, so I better fix it quick. I set up a food journal and tracked what I ate, when, how much and what I felt like afterwards. I discovered that too many raw onions gave me a bit of heartburn, orange juice was going to have to be a thing of the past (no biggie), too much concentrated tomato sauce without lots of meat was a bit of a hassle, and the one thing that upset me the most, even a speck of wheat flour gave me awful burning heartburn.

I researched whether gluten intolerance could cause heartburn and there has been a connection between GERD and wheat products, so I decided to eliminate all gluten for one month to see if I could reduce my heartburn. I am still tracking my food and symptoms and tomato still gives me a bit of a hassle ( will have to start using a real ragu with more carrots and celery in the base!), but for the most part, eating gluten free “so far” has eliminated most of my symptoms. I am still very new to this, and I am of the mind, if I have to cook one way for me, everyone gets to eat that way. This week, I bought some brown rice pasta from Trader Joe’s and decided to give it a whirl. It cooked up a bit sticky, so I rinsed it and then tossed it in olive oil and that seemed to make it much better. I knew that I simply could not TELL my family what they were trying, because I had done brown rice pasta in the past with Bittman’s Arugula Pesto recipe and they did NOT like it, but then again, I hadn’t tossed it in olive oil.

So, I went to my buddy, Mark Bittman to see if he had any ideas of disguising brown rice pasta and there, on pace 535 I came upon a recipe that made me smack myself in the forehead. Of Course! Baked ziti with meat sauce!

Page 535 Serves 4 to 6

The trick to making this dish really good is to avoid over cooking the pasta. It should be cooked even LESS than al dente and still too tough to eat. Especially if you are using gluten free pasta, take a few minutes off the cooking time. When done, rinse with cold water and then sprinkle with some olive oil and toss to coat. Bittman gives directions to make this recipe vegetarian, so if you want it simply with vegetables, check out the recipe in How to Cook Everything.

1 Pound ziti or other large cut pasta (I used gluten free brown rice pasta-if using GF pasta add in 1 tbs olive oil)

1 Pound mozzarella, preferably fresh, grated or chopped

1/2 Cup or more freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

1 Recipe Meat Sauce, Bolognese Style (page 531) or use your own meat sauce. I used a bolognese with bacon and it was yummy! Will share that recipe shortly.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and set the oven to preheat at 400 degrees.  When the water is boiling, add the pasta and stir well. Cook until under done, about 7 minutes and then drain. If you are using semolina pasta, do not rinse and allow some water to coat the pasta. Place the meat sauce into the large pot and warm it slightly. Toss in the pasta and 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and mix well to coat. Place the pasta mixture into a 9 x 13 greased baking pan and top with the remaining mozzrella cheese. Sprinkle on the Parmesan and place into the oven. Bake until the cheese is brown and the top is bubbly, about 20-30 minutes.

I served this with some braised kale as a side dish and my family ate it with gusto. It was not until AFTER they had finished and asked for seconds that I told them I had made it with brown rice pasta. They shrugged and said, well it is GOOD. It was even better the second day reheated for 20 minutes with a bit more cheese sprinkled on top. I will definitely make the recipe again! I will also keep you posted on my adventures with or without gluten. This ziti definitely sat well with me!

Remember, I highly recommend How to Cook Everything By Mark Bittman for ease of use and variety. Even the most traditional cook will get some amazing ideas from it. You can view more information on all Mark Bittman?s terrific cook books at my Stuff I Like on Amazon store, or by clicking the Amazon Banner at the bottom of this page. You can also find great information and more recipes from Mark at his website Mark Bittman, and of course, the New York Times.

Please stop by the first Thursday of every month (February 3, 2011!) and join the Tackling Bittman Recipe Hop, so start thinking of recipes you want to try. There are hundreds available online if you do a search for Mark Bittman and he even has some available on his website. I highly recommend you try out a recipe or two because they really are easy, generally quick and delicious! This recipe was submitted to the Tackling Bittman Recipe Roundup hosted by Girlichef .

This recipe is a part of Full Plate Thursdays, Simple Lives Thursday, Friday Potluck, Friday Food, Fun with Food Friday,  Penny Wise Platters Thursdays, Frugal Follies and Recipe Swap Thursday.