Baked Ziti with Turkey and Pesto

Source:  All You Magazine

8 oz ziti
salt and pepper
3 T olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of minced garlic
4 oz ground turkey
2 c canned crushed tomatoes
1 c ricotta
2 c grated mozzarella
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
1/4 c pesto


Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8 inch square dish.  Cook ziti in boiling water, just short of al dente.  Warm oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, saute until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic, saute 1 minute.  Stir in turkey and saute one minute.  Mix in tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer, stirring,  until thick, or about 10 minutes.   Combine ricotta,  1 c mozzarella, 1/4 c parmesan and pesto in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spread 1/2 of ziti in dish, top with 1/3 of sauce.  Spread with ricotta mixture and cover with remaining ziti and sauce.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese, drizzle with 1 T oil.  Bake until bubbly, about 10 minutes.

This recipe was in a section called "what to do with leftover turkey".  According to the article,  most ground turkey is packaged in 20 oz packaging, yet most recipes call for 1 lb -- and this recipe was one of the suggestions on what to do with the remaining 4 oz.  I don't know what any of that means -- I buy my turkey in 1 lb packaging, and froze 12 oz after making this recipe.  Otherwise, pretty easy to make.   My ziti was severely underdone with I put it in the oven, and after baking it was perfectly soft and delicious -- it makes me wonder if pre-cooking the ziti could be skipped altogether, making this an ever easier recipe to make.  The dish is delicious -- not too tomatoe-y, not too pesto-y but perfectly gooey and cheesy.  It's true that you don't miss more turkey -- the dish is delicious and flavorful.  You can skip the turkey altogether, and if you have more than 4 oz, the dish will be all that much better.

Excellent pasta dish!