Alternative names | Marzetti, Johnny Mazetti, Mazetti, Johnny Machete, Joe Mazzotti, Jo Mazzotti |
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Course | Main dish |
Place of origin | United States |
Region or state | Columbus, Ohio, Midwestern United States |
Created by | Marzetti's Restaurant, Columbus, Ohio |
Serving temperature | Hot |
Main ingredients | Pasta, ground beef, Italian sausage, tomatoes, cheese |
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,[1] and a tomato sauce that may include aromatic vegetables and mushrooms.[2]
Johnny Marzetti originated in Columbus, Ohio, at Marzetti's, an Italian restaurant established in 1896 at Woodruff Avenue and High Street by an Italian immigrant named Teresa Marzetti.[3][4] 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.[5] Teresa Marzetti was the first person to serve the casserole Johnny Marzetti in a restaurant.[6] Proximity to the nearby Ohio State University helped the first restaurant succeed and spread Marzetti's fame.[7]
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.[8] Marzetti's later became known for various salad dressings, which are still produced under the T. Marzetti Company label.
Johnny Marzetti also became a popular dish in the former Panama Canal Zone, where Panamanian locals referred to the dish as "Johnny Mazetti".[9]
In Season 3, Episode 18 of Gilmore Girls, "Happy Birthday, Baby", Johnny Marzetti casserole is referred to as "Johnny Machete", a dish [10] Richard Gilmore's grandmother made for him when he was feeling sad.[11]