Johnny Marzetti
{{short description|Italian-American pasta dish}}
{{redirects|Marzetti|the brand of dressings and dips|T. Marzetti Company}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name = Johnny Marzetti
| image = Johnny Marzetti.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Johnny Marzetti is a pasta casserole popular in the American Midwest and the former Panama Canal Zone.
| place_of_origin = United States
| region = Columbus, Ohio, Midwestern United States
| creator = Marzetti's Restaurant, Columbus, Ohio
| course = Main dish
| served = Hot
| main_ingredient = Pasta, ground beef, Italian sausage, tomatoes, cheese
| alternate_name = Marzetti, Johnny Mazetti, Mazetti, Johnny Machete, Joe Mazzotti, Jo Mazzotti
| variations = mushrooms, vegetables, olives
}}
Johnny Marzetti, or simply marzetti, is an American pasta dish in the cuisine of the Midwestern United States prepared with noodles, cheese, ground beef or Italian sausage,{{cite web | url=https://www.thekitchn.com/johnny-marzetti-recipe-23235455 | title=Johnny Marzetti is a Retro Pasta Casserole That Everyone Will Love }} and a tomato sauce that may include aromatic vegetables and mushrooms.{{cite web | title=Johnny Marzetti | website=Saveur | date=April 9, 2015 | url=http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Johnny-Marzetti | access-date=November 8, 2015}}
History
Johnny Marzetti originated in Columbus, Ohio, at Marzetti's, an Italian restaurant established in 1896 at Woodruff Avenue and High Street by Italian immigrant Teresa Marzetti.{{Citation |author= Edward Pfau |publication-date= April 4, 2013 |title= Casserole indeed started in Columbus |publisher= The Columbus Dispatch |page= 18A |url= http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2013/04/04/1-casserole-indeed-started-in-columbus.html |access-date= October 20, 2013 |archive-date= October 19, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211019070919/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2013/04/04/1-casserole-indeed-started-in-columbus.html |url-status= dead }}{{Citation |author= Charlotte Durham |publication-date= September 30, 2009 |title= Origin of Johnny Marzetti pasta casserole legendary |publisher= The Commercial Appeal |page= M4 |url= http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/sep/30/recipe-finder-origin-of-johnny-marzetti-pasta/?print=1 |access-date=October 20, 2013}} One of the dishes Marzetti offered her customers was a baked casserole of ground beef, cheese, tomato sauce, and noodles that she named for her brother-in-law, Johnny.{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Johnny_Marzetti|title=Johnny Marzetti - Ohio History Central|access-date=23 September 2014|archive-date=29 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829143917/https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Johnny_Marzetti|url-status=dead}} Teresa Marzetti was the first person to serve the casserole Johnny Marzetti in a restaurant.{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Johnny_Marzetti|title=Johnny Marzetti - Ohio History Central|work=ohiohistorycentral.org|access-date=8 November 2015|archive-date=29 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829143917/https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Johnny_Marzetti|url-status=dead}} Proximity to the nearby Ohio State University helped the first restaurant succeed and spread Marzetti's fame.{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/T._Marzetti_Company|title=T. Marzetti Company - Ohio History Central|access-date=23 September 2014|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019043446/https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/T._Marzetti_Company|url-status=dead}}
By the 1920s, it had become popular across Ohio and the Midwestern United States. The original restaurant closed in 1942, but a second location, opened in 1919, remained in operation until Teresa Marzetti died in 1972.{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Teresa_Marzetti|title=Teresa Marzetti - Ohio History Central|access-date=23 September 2014|archive-date=30 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730194048/http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Teresa_Marzetti|url-status=dead}} Marzetti's later became known for various salad dressings, which are still produced under the T. Marzetti Company label.{{Cn|date=February 2025}}
Johnny Marzetti also became a popular dish in the former Panama Canal Zone, where Zonians referred to the dish as "Johnny Mazetti".{{cite web | last=Darbee | first=Jeff | title=City Quotient: What is Columbus' definitive local food? | website=Columbus Monthly | date=August 20, 2014 | url=http://www.columbusmonthly.com/content/stories/2014/08/city-quotient-what-is-columbus-definitive-local-food.html | access-date=November 10, 2015 | archive-date=October 19, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019042208/https://www.columbusmonthly.com/content/stories/2014/08/city-quotient-what-is-columbus-definitive-local-food.html | url-status=dead }}
See also
{{portal|Food}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://old.post-gazette.com/food/19991104mailbox.asp Kitchen Mailbox: Johnny Marzetti immortalized as casserole] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524011201/https://old.post-gazette.com/food/19991104mailbox.asp |date=2023-05-24 }}
{{Pasta dishes}}
{{Coord|40.003693|-83.008571|display=title|format=dms}}
Category:Cuisine of the Midwestern United States
Category:Italian-American cuisine