Baked Ziti

Cook the pasta. Cook your ziti pasta in a pot of salted boiling water. Drain the pasta and place it back into the pot. Set aside.

Prep the oven. Preheat your oven to 425°F.

Prepare the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and cook until no longer pink, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the excess fat from the skillet and return the skillet to the burner.

Make the sauce. Add the marinara sauce and red pepper flakes to the sausage. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes over medium heat.

Add the cheese. Add the heavy cream and half the Parmesan cheese into the prepared sauce. Stir well.

Combine the sauce with the pasta. Add the sauce to the pot with the pasta and stir well.

Assemble. Transfer half the pasta to a 9-inch baking dish. Top the pasta with ricotta in small dollops, then add the remaining parmesan and half of the mozzarella cheese. Layer the remaining pasta and finish off with the remaining mozzarella cheese.

Bake. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake the pasta for 15-20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Finish and serve. Remove the ziti from the oven and let it rest and cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish with freshly chopped basil and serve.