It's funny; I remember how this tasted when she made it, and I thought it would be much more complicated. I suspect, as usual, that the devil is thoroughly in the details. If I remember correctly, Karen's version also contained homemade pesto, real parmigiano-reggiano cheese, full-fat ricotta and homemade marinara sauce. I'm betting that's probably why we all fought for rights to fall face-first into the baking dish.

Ingredients

15 oz ricotta or small-curd cottage cheese
2 whole eggs, beaten
¼ cup grated Parmesan
1T pesto
16 oz pasta (ziti), cooked
3½ cups marinara sauce
1 lb fresh mozzarella, sliced

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Mix ricotta, eggs, Parmesan and pesto.
• In 13"x9" baking dish, spoon ½ cup sauce, top with pasta, then cheese mix. Repeat.
• Top with fresh mozzarella.
• Bake 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is hot.