An Easy, Quick, One-Pot Meatless Pasta, Because January

Now that the holidays are winding down and our regular workweek is revving back up again, the stakes for dinners at our house have risen even higher. Dinner is one thing we can reliably look forward to every day, so it ought to be delicious. But that’s not always easy. We’re talking about January after all, when we’re tired, busy and maybe struggling to keep our resolutions, culinary and otherwise.

Yet our re-entry into regular life can be magically smoothed by recipes like Hetty Lui McKinnon’s creamy one-pot mushroom and leek pasta. She ticks all the post-holiday boxes: easy, quick (30 minutes or less), meatless, one-pot and rich, with a bevy of caramelized, earthy flavors from a mix of golden sautéed leeks and mushrooms. The ricotta and chile flake topping add an effortless wow factor that eases us happily into the new year.

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Creamy One-Pot Mushroom and Leek Pasta

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Also ticking those boxes is Yewande Komolafe’s roasted squash with turmeric-ginger chickpeas, a colorful, fragrant mix of custardy roasted squash and snappy marinated chickpeas that’s piled onto salad greens and speckled with pomegranate seeds. It’s delightful, pretty and not a lot of work. It may take a little longer to get it on the table (45 minutes), but that’s mostly hands-free, sheet-pan-in-the-oven time.

Vivid yellow turmeric — a glad sight on the grayest of days — also stars in Asha Gomez and Martha Hall Foose’s weeknight fancy chicken and rice, a recipe adapted by Sara Bonisteel. The fanciness becomes clear in the little touches that elevate the dish, like the ghee flavored with cardamom, star anise, and onions that make up the foundation, as well as the garnish of chopped, dried apricots and sliced almonds that add sweetness and texture.

This wouldn’t be a proper January newsletter without at least one cozy soup or stew. Lidey Heuck’s