Ingredients:
For tomato sauce:(makes 6 cups)
2 cups minced onions
1 small carrot
1/2 stalk celery,sliced thin
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
two 2-pound-3oz. cans plum tomatoes,drained,2 cups of the juice reserved
a 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 cup beef broth (your own or canned)
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds (optional)
4 cloves (optional)
6 sprigs parsley

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, pricked all over
1 pound Ziti
1 pound ricotta1 large egg
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:
Make the sauce:In a large saucepan cook the onion,carrot and celery with salt and pepper in the butter and oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened. Add the wine, and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients, bring the liquid to a boil, then simmer the mixture, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Discard the bay leaf and force the mixture through the medium disk of a food mill into a bowl.

In a lightly oiled baking pan bake the sausages in a preheated 400*F. oven, turning them and discarding the fat, for 30 minutes, or until browned. Transfer the sausages to a cutting board, let cool 15 minutes, and cut them into 1/8 inch slices.

Cook the Ziti in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and refresh under cold water. Drain again thoroughly.

In a bowl combine the ricotta, egg and parsley.

Coat the bottom of a baking dish, 15 by 10 1/2 by 2 1/2, with 2 cups of the tomato sauce. On the sauce layer half of the Ziti, half the ricotta mixture, half the sausages, half the mozzarella, and half the Parmesan, and cover the mixture with 2 more cups of the the sauce. Layer the remaining Ziti, ricotta, sausage, amd mozzarella. Cover the mixture with the remaining sauce, and sprinkle it with the remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan. Bake the mixture in a preheated 325*F. oven for 1 1/4 hours, or until bubbling. Serves 8

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