Cook It In Cast Iron: Baked Ziti/ Paella 🌞

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BAKED ZITI WITH CHARRED TOMATOES

SERVES 4

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS Baked ziti, a hearty combination of pasta,
tomato sauce, and gooey cheese, can be time-consuming and fussy
between making the sauce, boiling the pasta, and then assembling
and baking the dish. We were looking to streamline this dish, achieving
the same delicious results in less time and without watching over, and
dirtying, a multitude of pots. Our first priority was the sauce. We used a
hot cast-iron skillet to get a nice blistery char on grape tomatoes,
bringing a deep, caramelized flavor to the sauce. We further bolstered
the sauce by sautéing garlic, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste with
the charred tomatoes. We then mashed everything to a coarse consistency
and diluted it with water so that we could cook the ziti right in the sauce.
Cooking the ziti in the skillet with the sauce saved us from using an extra
pot, and the starch released from the pasta during cooking helped thicken
the sauce nicely. We finished the sauce by stirring in basil and Parmesan.
We then sprinkled the whole dish with mozzarella and broiled it in the oven.
Being able to go from the stovetop to the broiler was another perk of the cast-
iron pan, and the dish needed only 5 minutes in the oven for a perfectly melty,
browned cheese layer on top. You can substitute penne for the ziti. Do not use
fat-free mozzarella here.

1½ pounds grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon tomato paste
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
12 ounces (3¾ cups) ziti
3 cups water, plus extra as needed
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup)
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)

1 Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Heat 12-inch cast-iron skillet
over medium heat for 5 minutes. Toss tomatoes with oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Add tomatoes to skillet
and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly charred and blistered, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic,
tomato paste, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Off heat, coarsely mash
tomatoes using potato masher.

2 Stir in pasta and water and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to vigorous simmer,
cover, and cook, stirring often, until pasta is tender, 15 to 18 minutes.

3 Stir in Parmesan and adjust sauce consistency with extra hot water as needed. Stir in basil and
season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Transfer skillet to oven and broil until
cheese is melted and spotty brown, about 5 minutes. Serve.

VARIATION

Baked Ziti with Puttanesca Sauce
Add 2 anchovies, rinsed and minced, to skillet with garlic and increase pepper flakes to ½ teaspoon.
Substitute ½ cup dry red wine for ½ cup of water in step 2. Substitute ¼ cup minced fresh parsley for
basil and stir ½ cup chopped pitted kalamata olives and 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and minced,
into cooked pasta with Parmesan.

From "Cook It In Cast Iron"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25489331-cook-it-in-cast-iron

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PAELLA

SERVES 4 TO 6

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS Saffron-infused paella is a popular Spanish rice and
seafood dish that’s packed with flavor, but unusual in gredients and complicated
preparations can make it intimidating to tackle at home. We translated this
Spanish classic for American kitchens by taking advantage of the inherent benefits
of the cast-iron skillet. We started by browning chicken, then sautéing vegetables
and aromatics with flavorful chorizo. Next, we added rice, along with saffron and a
whopping hit of garlic. Tomatoes cooked until they darkened created deep flavor
in a short amount of time. When the rice reached al dente, we added our seafood
and let it finish cooking.

The briny mussels and shrimp released their juices, flavoring the rice even more.
A simple sprinkling of peas brightened the flavor of the dish. One of the key
elements of paella is the soccarat, a crusty brown layer of rice that develops on
the bottom of the dish. A traditional stainless-steel pan would have to sit over
high heat for the last 5 minutes of cooking to develop this crust, which creates
a high risk of the more delicate ingredients overcooking, but the cast-iron pan,
with its high heat retention, naturally created the crust during the course of
cooking the recipe without any extra steps. If you can’t find chorizo sausage,
use andouille or linguiça.


12 ounces extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined
9 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut crosswise into thirds
8 ounces Spanish-style chorizo sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced ¼ inch thick
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine
1 onion, chopped fine
1¼ cups Valencia or Arborio rice
½ teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
2¼ cups chicken broth
¼ cup dry white wine
12 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
½ cup frozen peas
Lemon wedges


1 Toss shrimp with 1 teaspoon garlic and 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper; set
aside. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 12-inch cast-iron
skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil and heat until just smoking. Brown
chicken on all sides, about 6 minutes; transfer to bowl.

2 Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty skillet until shimmering. Add chorizo, bell pepper,
onion, and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in rice,
saffron, and remaining garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and cook
until mixture begins to darken and thicken slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in broth and wine, scraping
up any browned bits, and bring to simmer.

3 Nestle chicken into skillet. Reduce heat to gentle simmer, cover, and cook until most of liquid is
absorbed and rice is al dente, about 15 minutes.

4 Insert mussels hinged side down into rice (so they stand upright) and scatter shrimp over top.
Cover and cook until shrimp are opaque throughout and mussels have opened, 6 to 8 minutes.

5 Off heat, discard any mussels that refuse to open. Scatter peas over rice, cover, and let sit until
heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

From "Cook It In Cast Iron"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25489331-cook-it-in-cast-iron


All power to the skillet!

[EYESORE 9001]

1. I learned something today

That paella doesn’t necessarily contain fish. I mean, it’s closer to what I remember with shrimp, but I thought fish was mandatory. Don’t get me wrong - I’d still eat it.