Meaty Baked Ziti With Fresh Ricotta

• 1 pound ziti or penne (I prefer DeCecco pasta)
• Olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 12 ounces spinach
• 8 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 35-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes, chopped)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 10 ounces fresh ricotta
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, shredded

1. Cook the ziti in a large pot of boiling water until just al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large pan. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring frequently to break up the pieces, until browned and mostly cooked through. Add the spinach and mix in until wilted.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a separate pan. Add tomatoes and cook over moderate heat until the juices have released and a light sauce forms. Add this (or canned tomatoes) to meat mixture and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Preheat oven to 350F. Spoon ziti and sauce mixture into a large baking or casserole pan. Top with evenly spaced dollops of the fresh ricotta and cover with shredded mozzarella. Bake until the cheese has melted completely and is lightly brown. Cut into squares and serve immediately.

penne, olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, ground beef, spinach, tomatoes, salt, ricotta, mozzarella

Taken from food52.com/recipes/10369-meaty-baked-ziti-with-fresh-ricotta (may not work)