Cheesy Baked Pasta With Sausage and Ricotta

Recipe Credit - Melissa Clark (in The New York Times)

Photo Credit - David Malosh

NY Times Food Stylist - Simon Andrews

This quick pasta dish is like a cross between baked ziti and sausage lasagna, this mozzarella-topped pasta is rich with ricotta and crushed tomatoes — and cooks entirely in one pan, including the pasta. The Italian sausage adds meaty depth to the sauce, but vegetarians can leave it out or use their favorite plant-based sausage instead.

Link to Cheesy Baked Pasta With Sausage and Ricotta

TheITGourmet NOTE and TIPS: We make this dish without the sausage altogether and it's fabulous!!! Additionally instead of using the tomatoes we just use a good quality jarred pasta sauce.

Chickpea and Leek Latkes (with Tzatziki Sauce)

Not all latkes are what you traditionally think of as... well... latkes. When they think of latkes, almost everyone immediately assumes potato pancakes - a mixture of potato, egg, onions (most of the time), etc.. However, there are lots of festive pancake recipes that take on all sorts of culinary themes - there are European, Asian, Middle Eastern - I bet almost every region in the world has some type of variation of savory pancake. Here's a bent on a fried pancake that has a little bit of a Middle Eastern flair with Chickpea and Leek flavors. As my wife put it, almost seems like a falafel recipe. Please be open to new fritter flavors and enjoy it!

Latkes Ingredients

• 1 Can of garbanzo beans

• 2 Leek stems washed, drained, and thinly sliced (use only the white part)

• 2 eggs beaten

• 1 ½ Tablespoons all purpose flour

• 1 ½ Tablespoons chopped parsley

• Salt and pepper for seasoning (to taste)

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil (for sautéing leeks)

• 2 - 3 Tablespoons olive oil (for frying latkes)

Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients

• 1 cup of plain whole Greek yogurt (not low fat)

• 1 cucumber cut into small cubes

• 2 minced garlic cloves

• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 2 Tablespoons chopped dill

• Sea Salt and pepper for seasoning

Yields Approximately 10-12 Pancakes

Latkes Directions

1. Place chickpeas in a bowl and use a fork to roughly mash (how fine the texture of the mashed chickpeas will be a matter of preference).

2. Heat skillet over low - medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Place leeks in the skillet and sauté for approximately 2-3 minutes (you want the leeks to soften but not brown).

3. Add sautéed leeks, beaten eggs, flour, and 1 tablespoon of parsley into the bowl with the mashed chickpeas and stir until well combined. Season to taste.

4. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. To cook 4 fritters at a time, place four 60ml (1/4-cup) quantities of batter around edge of the pan, allowing room for spreading. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden underneath. Turn and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat to make 12 fritters.

5. To serve, place fritters on your plate and top with tzatziki sauce. Sprinkle with remaining parsley to garnish

Tzatziki Sauce Directions

1. Place all ingredients (except for the salt and pepper) in a small bowl and mix to stir thoroughly. Season to taste with a sprinkling of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. I would suggest making up the Tzatziki sauce an hour or two before you want to serve to get all the flavors to meld together.

As Always Best Regards and BonAppetIT!!!

The I.T. Gourmet

"What should we make for dinner tonight?"

Is everyone getting sick of hearing those famous words "WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE FOR DINNER TONIGHT?"

Let's face it, with COVID cases surging these days, if you are like us, we're definitely NOT eating out right now and doing "take out" less frequently than normal. Additionally, we are now taking advantage of shopping at home to buy our groceries (something a year ago we probably considered to be a luxury service).

Are you finding each day you spend time looking to see what is in the pantry so you can put together something fast, healthy, and can be generally made with meager / spartan ingredients. What I was thinking of starting a new category of recipes in TheITGourmet.com that could be used to assist people and hopefully take the stress out of meal planning and preparation.

I'm going to be putting out a "Call for Recipes!!!" - Here's what I'm thinking as to guiding principles (so please don't be bashful about submitting or providing any feedback):

• No special ingredients necessary - the recipe should be made with things that are simple to source, not fancy, etc.

• Not an elaborate amount of "hands on" preparation and cooking time - with a goal to get the meal prepared in 45 minutes time (now it might stretch the time if there is baking time involved, but the goal should be 45 minutes of kitchen counter time).They are easy and do not take a lot of time (let's minimize stress on the cooks)

• They minimize the number of ingredients

• They are healthy (okay, okay - you occasionally need an indulgence)

• Kid friendly (not all of them need to be kid-friendly, but if you are like us, you get sick of making chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, and hot dogs)

• Family Favorites (don't want to get the taste buds burned out)

• Replacements for things you are finding difficult to find in the store right now - i.e., for things were usually easy to find / buy in the store, but either can't source or there might be long lead time (e.g., brown sugar or baking powder).

NOTE: There should no need that this recipe be your own, but please let's make sure we properly reference the source. Also - please provide a picture of the finished recipe. If we are getting it off of a site, let's give the proper credit where credit is due.

Here's a link to the first recipe in this category --> Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

As Always Best Regards and BonAppetIT (and Stay Safe),

The I.T.Gourmet