Fork It Over: Sausage Pasta, round one
I am completely obsessed with this non-recipe dish "taught" to me by Freyan and Kate during our girls weekend in Carmel just before Christmas (pictures from that trip are forthcoming, I swear! Just like from New York.) Ok, ok, the whole gang was there but I can't remember who brought this idea up, so those two get credit for the time being. My solo-attempt looked like the picture above when all was said and done. I hope it looks appetizing to you, dear Reader, because just seeing these pictures makes me want to go cook some fake sausage pasta at 11pm. Or maybe I'm just feeling snacky...
Step 1: Sautée chopped onions (I like sweet white onion but we only had red at home this time), garlic, mushrooms, and spinach leaves in olive oil. Cook the onion and garlic first until they really soften up and become translucent, then add the mushrooms, then the spinach leaves. I also added pine nuts at the end, but you could toast those a little first before adding them to the mix.
Finally, add some leftover white wine (who am I kidding, wine should never be "left over"! Add some cheap white wine purchased specifically for this occasion, then drink the rest with your friends) and let the concoction simmer for several minutes. You can also add lemon juice!
Step 2: Cook noodles as directed.
My mom only had fancy, italian, incredibly long and curly noodles lying around. I don't even know what these are called, that's how obscure a pasta type this is (to me, at least.) I broke it up into somewhat smaller strands so this dish wouldn't be unmanageable - usually I prefer using rigatoni or fusilli of some kind.
Step 3: Pan-fry cut sausage pieces.
I had to add a fair amount of olive oil to mine, because I was using fake sausage and the dryness of the soy-sausage soaked up the oil really quickly. Hey, I never said this was a healthy meal, just mouthwatering. For your reference, I used the Tofurky Kielbasa sausages and cut up about two of them - for 3 or more people, I'd cut up all four in the package.
Or, do as my mom did and cook your own meatballs to put on top. Either tastes great, because the whole meal tastes great! Brag brag brag.
Step 4: Plate and enjoy.
When all bits are cooked properly, pour the sauté sauce over the pasta and place meatballs or sausage on top of each individual serving. Add more lemon juice and parmesan as desired. For me, that means a lot more. Of both. Lemon and parmesan are always desired.
Ok, I need to make this this week. Good thing I have a fridge chock full of Tofurky Kielbasa sausage.