Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Sausage and Peppers Pasta

Last year when we received the first batch of mini sweet peppers from our CSA Matt made me sausage & peppers. Can you believe I'd never had it before?! (It's probably because I spent a good deal of my life under the misconception that I don't like peppers.) Anyway, it was a big hit with me. This week, when I was putting our menu together, I suggested we have it again since we have a big bag of mini sweets in the fridge. Matt thought it might be interesting to do a different take on it & make the sausage & peppers into a sauce for pasta.
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Wow, was this good! I could have eaten seconds & thirds of this pasta. There is a nice mild sweetness from the peppers & sherry with just a hint of heat at the back from the crushed red pepper. (If you want it a little spicier use hot Italian sausage or add a few hot peppers to the pepper mix.) Despite the fact there is no cream in it the dish has a creamy texture to it, probably from the added pasta cooking water. To top it off, this meal was so quick & easy to put together. This could easily become a dish that works its way often into our menu.

Sausage & Peppers Pasta

olive oil
6 - 7 oz bulk Italian sausage
1 medium yellow onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
2 c sweet peppers, seeded & sliced
1/4 c sherry
2 T tomato paste
1 T red wine vinegar
dash of red pepper flakes
4 oz pasta, medium shells
1/4 c reserved pasta cooking water
grated Parmesan (optional)

Coat the bottom of a large skillet with a little olive oil & heat over medium-high heat. Add the sausage & brown until cooked. Add the onions & cook until starting to soften. Stir in the peppers, sherry, tomato paste, vinegar & red pepper flakes. Cover & turn the heat down to low. Let cook for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the directions. Drain the pasta reserving 1/4 cup of the water. Mix the pasta & water into the sausage & peppers. Top each serving with grated Parmesan if desired.

Serves 2

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12 comments:

  1. Amy P.October 20, 2009 at 8:46 AM

    This looks tasty, and easy too. Maybe this will galvanize me to start cooking again?

    I think we're on the same CSA delivery schedule; have your mini-peppers stayed viable into this week? I'm afraid to look at ours,as I'm flooded with guilt from not using them yet. But I've got to clear some fridge space for this week's shipment.

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  2. Tangled NoodleOctober 20, 2009 at 9:32 AM

    That looks so good! I keep forgetting to reserve the pasta cooking water to finish the dish and get that nice creaminess you mentioned. It's force of habit to dump it all out.

    This is the kind of dish that will get us through another winter!

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  3. Fresh Local and BestOctober 20, 2009 at 10:55 AM

    This looks yummy! I love all the colors added by the peppers.

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  4. graceOctober 20, 2009 at 11:16 AM

    oh, i'm sure you'll never look back--sausage and peppers make a mean and delightful combination. heck, you don't even need the shells!

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  5. George GastonOctober 20, 2009 at 2:35 PM

    kat... you have some great flavor combinations going on here. This sounds like a great recipe! Thanks...

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  6. UnknownOctober 21, 2009 at 8:55 AM

    Thanks for the idea on how to use up all those peppers we've been getting! I made this last night with some whole wheat penne and chicken italian sausage from the co-op, and it was fantastic. My husband said he could eat it for every meal of the day!

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  7. ElleOctober 21, 2009 at 11:06 AM

    Oh, these are a few of my favorite things...looks fabulous and so good for the cold days and nights!

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  8. LoOctober 21, 2009 at 12:16 PM

    Bet this is fantastic. Our local Outpost co-op makes fantastic Italian sausages that would be perfect for a recipe like this. That reserved pasta water is a trick I need to use more often!

    Hopped over here from George's blog, and I'm glad I did! Lovely stuff. And it's always awesome to find local(ish) blogger friends!

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  9. jillianOctober 21, 2009 at 10:03 PM

    We are on a sausage kick in my house lately. This sounds like such a great fall dish.

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  10. Alicia FoodycatOctober 23, 2009 at 7:42 AM

    Oh this looks good! We love sausage and peppers pasta, but the sherry addition is a great suggestion!

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  11. VelvaOctober 23, 2009 at 9:37 PM

    This looks really good! Thanks for sharing. Loved it.

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  12. Peter MOctober 28, 2009 at 5:19 AM

    Good choice of pasta with the shells...scoop up that tasty sauce.

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