You begin by shallow-frying little meatballs, about the size of a cherry or a hazelnut, called polpettine in Italian, made from the same mixture of meat, cheese, egg, milk-soaked bread, garlic and parsley used for a polpettone. Remove them from the frying pan as soon as they are nicely golden-brown and add more as you go, until you have used up all the mixture.

Meanwhile, cook your ziti very al dente in abundant well-salted water. Warm some leftover ragù and slice a large ball of mozzarella into thin slices, breaking them apart into bite-sized pieces.

Once these preparatory steps are complete, it is time to assemble the dish. Spoon a bit of the ragù in the bottom of a baking dish, then add a layer of pasta. Nap the ziti with more ragù, arrange the polpettine here and there on top of the pasta and sauce, then pieces of mozzarella, then sprinkle it all with an ample amount of grated pecorino cheese. Add another layer of pasta and repeat until you've used up all your pasta. End with a layer of tomato sauce and ample grated cheese, drizzling a bit of olive oil on top to encourage browning.

Bake in a very hot oven (220C, 450F) for about 15-20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling nicely and the top is lightly browned. Allow the dish to cool off for a few minutes, and serve.