Ziti

Ziti ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) or zite ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is a shape of extruded pasta originating in the Italian region of Sicily.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>

Factories make ziti out of durum wheat flour and water, forming long, narrow tubes. In baked macaroni dishes, these tubes are used unbroken, but for preparations serving ziti with sauce, they are broken or cut into pieces around Template:Convert long. In the past, this was generally done by cooks before cooking, but is today more frequently performed by manufacturers, who sell the pieces under the name "cut ziti".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> These cuts are made straight across, rather than diagonally as is the case with penne.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Variations of ziti include {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a thicker pasta, and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which has ridges on its surface.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Ziti is known under the alternative names {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, as well as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in Molise and Apulia respectively. The phrase "box of ziti" has become a colloquial euphemism for $1,000 in New York, after its use was popularized in the crime-drama series The Sopranos.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The literal translation of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is either 'brides' or 'grooms'; in the past in Sicily, ziti was a mainstay at the weddings of all economic classes, served with stewed pork. The name {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} similarly references weddings, having translating to "of the bride." Today, ziti is eaten throughout Italy, in several regions during feasts. An example of this is in Molise, where it is popularly believed that by eating ziti on the Feast of the Epiphany, the devil will not appear at one's deathbed.<ref name=":0" />

The pasta is often served with Genovese sauce and ragù, as well as in baked pasta dishes.<ref name=":1" /> In Apulia, ziti is used in {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Literally). In this dish, a bowl of ziti, covered with tomato sauce, meatballs and cheese, is covered and immersed in boiling water. Baked ziti is a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (baked pasta casserole) characteristic of Italian-American cuisine, made of ziti, bechamel, ragù, and topped with cheese.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The version eaten in Naples, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, is less dense than the baked ziti popular in America.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Gallery

• Long, hollow pieces of pasta
  Uncut ziti
• Uncut ziti being set into a pot
  Uncut ziti being set into a pot
• File:RecipeoftheMonthNov SJ (10807432016).jpg
  Cut ziti in a strainer
• Baked ziti with tomato sauce and cheese
  Baked ziti with tomato sauce and cheese

See also

• List of pasta
• List of casserole dishes