Spicy Baked Ziti

Greetings dear blog readers... Oh my, it's been a while since I last posted. Please do forgive me. I hope all of you are doing well and eating deliciously. 

Even though I have not been posting on the blog as frequently as I'd like to, I've been posting more videos now on my YouTube channel. I've recently experimented with vlogs which is quite interesting to say the least. So, if you want to see some of the awkwardness, please head over and subscribe to the channel for more updates in the future. 

Now, let's talk about pasta. You know how much I adore pasta and it's true I could happily eat pasta any time of day. Leftover cold pasta straight from the fridge is my ultimate guiltless pleasure. Another pasta pleasure is this spicy baked ziti. It's an easy pasta dish you can whip up during the weekdays and it feeds a crowd. The spiciness comes from hot Italian sausage meat and dried chilli flakes... It is hot but just enough to keep you wanting for seconds. I, embarrassingly had 3 servings... 

To the sausage meat, I also add minced turkey which I think always go together, like making stuffing/dressing. Then to boost the Italian-ness, some fragrant fennel seeds. Here I used ziti, but you can change it to penne or rigatoni or any pasta shapes that tickle your fancy.

The ricotta here lends creaminess to the sauce, then you get the salty nuttiness of Parmesan and ooey gooey mozzarella. Hmmm....

Instead of leaving instructions on how to make this delicious pasta, you get to watch it! It is the latest video on the channel. I hope you'll enjoy watching it as much as I enjoy making it. Until next time my friends...   

Spicy Baked Ziti

2 tablespoons olive oil, regular not extra-virgin

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced or grated

250 gr hot Italian sausage meat

250 gr minced turkey

2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon dried chili flakes

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and black pepper, to taste

1 can (400 gr size) whole tomatoes, with juice

450 gr ziti pasta, or penne or rigatoni

200 gr ricotta cheese

450 gr shredded mozzarella cheese 

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

A handful of flat leaf Italian parsley, roughly chopped