ziti
{{Short description|Type of pasta}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Ziti
| image = File:Ziti al ragù.jpg
| image_size = 240px
| caption = Ziti al ragù napoletano
| alternate_name = Boccolotti, zitoni, zituane, candele, ziti candelati
| country = Italy
| region = {{plainlist|
}}
| creator =
| course =
| type = Pasta
| served =
| main_ingredient = Durum wheat flour, water
| variations = Bucatini
}}
Ziti ({{IPA|it|ˈdziːti|lang}}) or zite ({{IPA|it|ˈdziːte|lang}}) is a shape of extruded pasta originating from the Italian regions of Campania and Sicily.{{Citation|title=MAP OF NAPLES AND CAMPANIA|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1tqxvx6.14|work=Medieval Naples|pages=344|access-date=2023-06-29|publisher=Italica Press|doi=10.2307/j.ctt1tqxvx6.14 |url-access=subscription}} It is shaped into long, wide tubes, about {{Convert|25|cm|in|abbr=in}} long, that generally need to be broken by hand into smaller pieces before cooking. It is also sold as "cut ziti" in pieces about 5 cm (2 inches) long, with the ends cut straight-across, unlike penne which have the ends cut diagonally. Ziti has similarities to bucatini but is much larger in diameter.
Etymology
{{lang|scn|Ziti|}} is the plural form of {{lang|scn|zita}} and {{lang|scn|zitu}}, respectively meaning 'bride' and 'groom' in Sicilian. For this reason, ziti may also be rendered as {{lang|it|zite}} in Italian (with the regular plural form for feminine nouns in -a).{{cite book |last=Oretta Zanini |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpa00zani |title=Encyclopedia of Pasta |publisher=University of California Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-520-94471-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpa00zani/page/315 315]–316 |url-access=registration}}
Composition and usage
Ziti strands are made of long and wide tubes, each around {{Convert|25|cm|in|abbr=in}}. Ziti has similarities to bucatini, rigatoni and penne.{{Cite journal |last=Bretagnolle |first=Anne |date=2002-05-22 |title=Le Bras H., 2000, Essai de géométrie sociale, Paris, Editions Odile Jacob. |url=https://journals.openedition.org/cybergeo/869 |journal=Cybergeo: European Journal of Geography |language=fr |doi=10.4000/cybergeo.869 |issn=1278-3366|doi-access=free }}{{Cite web |date=3 August 2017 |title=Ziti and Zitoni Pasta |url=https://www.the-pasta-project.com/ziti-and-zitoni-pasta/}} Ziti is created from durum wheat flour and water.{{Cite news |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=2003-01-15 |title=FOOD STUFF; From Abalone To Ziti, The Language Of Food |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/15/dining/food-stuff-from-abalone-to-ziti-the-language-of-food.html |access-date=2023-07-01 |issn=0362-4331}}
It is also used to make {{lang|it|pasta alla Norma}}.{{Cite book |last1=Rosso |first1=Julee |url=http://archive.org/details/newbasicscookboo00jule |title=The new basics cookbook |last2=Lukins |first2=Sheila |date=1989 |publisher=New York : Workman Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-89480-341-3}}
In Sicily, it is traditionally served at a wedding feast.
Zitoni, or zitone, has a thicker cut than ziti, being in-between ziti and rigatoni.{{Cite book |last=Sinclair |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mdwm7jI9J10C&q=zitoni&pg=PT1453 |title=Dictionary of Food: International Food and Cooking Terms from A to Z |date=2009-01-01 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-4081-0218-3 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=FoodData Central |url=https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/472295/nutrients |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=fdc.nal.usda.gov}}
Gallery
File:Ziti top (cropped).jpg|Ziti uncut
File:Flickr - cyclonebill - Kylling og pasta.jpg|Uncut ziti being set into a pot
File:RecipeoftheMonthNov SJ (10807432016).jpg|Cut ziti sitting in a strainer
Baked ziti
Baked ziti is a casserole with ziti pasta and a Neapolitan-style tomato sauce. It is characteristic of Italian-American cuisine.{{cite book
| title=Saveur: The New Comfort Food - Home Cooking from Around the World
| first=James
| last=Oseland
| authorlink=James Oseland
| date=2011-04-20
| publisher=Chronicle Books
| isbn=978-0811878012}}{{cite book
| title=Lidia's Italy in America
| author1=Lidia Matticchio Bastianich
| authorlink1=Lidia Bastianich
| author2=Tanya Bastianich Manuali
| authorlink2=Tanya Bastianich Manuali
| publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
| date=2011-10-25
| isbn=978-0307595676}}
Typically, the pasta is first boiled separately until it is nearly, but not completely, done. The almost-cooked pasta is added to a tomato-based sauce. The sauce-coated pasta is then combined with cheese, typically a mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Other ingredients can be added to the cheese, such as ground meat, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, and onions. The combined ingredients are placed in a baking dish, covered with mozzarella cheese, baked in the oven, and served hot.{{Cite web |title=Baked Ziti Recipe |url=https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018954-baked-ziti |access-date=2023-06-27 |website=NYT Cooking |language=en-US}} If unavailable, ziti may be substituted for other tubular kinds of pasta such as penne or rigatoni.
In popular culture
In the crime-drama series The Sopranos, the phrase box of ziti is used as a euphemism for $1,000. This term has spread to become colloquial in New York.{{Cite news |last1=McKinley |first1=Jesse |last2=Wang |first2=Vivian |date=2018-02-27 |title='This Is How Criminals Talk': Closing Arguments Focus on Ziti |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/nyregion/percoco-albany-corruption-trial.html |access-date=2023-06-27 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=James |first=Caryn |date=2000-01-14 |title=TV WEEKEND; The Ziti's in the Oven and the Matriarch's Still Not Dead |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/14/movies/tv-weekend-the-ziti-s-in-the-oven-and-the-matriarch-s-still-not-dead.html |access-date=2023-06-27 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite journal |last=Wynn |first=Neil A. |date=2004 |editor-last=Barreca |editor-first=Regina |editor2-last=Bishop |editor2-first=David |editor3-last=Chase |editor3-first=David |editor4-last=Gabbard |editor4-first=Glen O. |editor5-last=Rucker |editor5-first=Allen |editor6-last=Simon |editor6-first=David R. |editor7-last=Lavery |editor7-first=David |title=Counselling the Mafia: "The Sopranos" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27557467 |journal=Journal of American Studies |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=127–132 |doi=10.1017/S0021875804007947 |jstor=27557467 |issn=0021-8758|url-access=subscription }} The term was used in Albany by Andrew Cuomo during the sentencing of Percoco v. United States in February 2018.{{Cite news |last=Wolfe |first=Jonathan |date=2018-02-06 |title=New York Today: Hold the Ziti |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/nyregion/new-york-today-hold-the-ziti.html |access-date=2023-06-27 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |author1=Jesse Mckinley |author2=Benjamin Weiser |date=2018-02-07 |title=In Albany, Percoco Secretly Strained to Keep the 'Ziti' Flowing |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/nyregion/howe-percoco-cuomo-albany-corruption.html |access-date=2023-06-27 |issn=0362-4331}}