Thursday, September 13, 2007

Last Night's Dinner #27: Penne with Sausage


Don't kill me, it's another (adapted) Giada de Laurentis special - I can't help it, the girl has really great pasta recipes!!

Penne with Sausage, Artichokes and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: Approx. 20 minutes
Serves 2



You'll need:
1/3 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes sliced, reserve 1 tbs of the oil
3 large italian hot sausages, casings removed
1 large handful of frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and coarsely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 c dry white wine
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 package of penne (I used whole wheat, I don't recommend it)
1/4 c of grated parmesan, plus a little more for serving
A handful of chopped fresh basil
1/2 handful chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 handful cubed fresh mozzarella (optional)

Prep prep prep

Making sure that I have everything prepped and organized prior to lighting the stove, really helps to keep me sane (specially when I'm cooking more than 1 dish)! If I've learned anything at all from watching hours and hours of Top Chef and other cooking shows, it's prep prep prep - spending a little more time on prepping, pays off big time.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (for pasta)

Heat oil from tomatoes. Cook sausages (break up with a fork) until brown, about 8 mins. Set aside in a bowl. In the same pan, add artichokes and garlic. Season. Sauté until garlic is tender, about 2 mins. Add broth, wine and sun-dried tomatoes. Boil, stirring occasionally until sauce reduces slightly, about 8 mins. Season.

Start cooking the penne, until tender but still frim to the bite - 10 mins. Drain pasta and do not rinse. Add the pasta, sausage, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, basil and parsley to the artichoke mixture. Toss until the pasta absorbs most of the sauce. Stir in mozzarella, if using.



For me, the pasta had a little too much going on. Personally, I prefer simple pasta dishes with one or two killer ingredients. This was a more hearty dish, so of course Hillsy gave it a thumbs up. It's more of a Sunday early dinner/late lunch type of dish.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gerald saw your recipe and delicious pictures! He said, "wow!" He now encourages me to cook the same thing and be like Martha Stewart like you. You know me, I'm like quick and easy kitchen steward not stewart LOL!!--MJ

Anonymous said...

Ricci,
How did your penne pasta turn out - taste wise? I love Macaroni Grill's penne pasta with sun dried tomatoes. Last time i tried it, t'was was too sour...you should have seen my kid's face. Ugh!
They also made a sour coment " Mommy, you are a good pinoy-dish-cook.... Italian? Ahhhh...let's keep it simple...pizza-to go"
tsk...tsk...

U are chu Marta Ischuwart gurl!!!! mom Kerol says...

Marichelle said...

I wasn't too crazy about this dish, the angel hair pasta with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes I made a while ago was a much better dish http://lifeflix.blogspot.com/2007/07/last-nights-dinner-4.html BTW, do you use sun dried tomatoes in olive oil or just plain dry ones?

The best pasta recipes I've made so far are:
Black Fig & Chilli Tagliatelli http://lifeflix.blogspot.com/2007/08/last-nights-dinner-18.html
Creamy Farfalle with Mushrooms http://lifeflix.blogspot.com/2007/07/last-nights-dinner-1.html

Rachelle S said...

Hello, I was looking for this recipe online (posibility for my blog also), and your site is the 1st I clicked on. I was considering making this fo rmy family, but am skeptical of some of the ingredients. I'm not sure if my kids (or husband for that matter) would eat this, lol. Thanks for your review :)

Marichelle said...

Hi Rachelle, definitely too much going on with this one. I would probably leave out the artichokes and not really sure you need the white wine either :)