What's for Dinner Tonight?: Skillet Italian Sausage & Peppers with Penne and Chive Goat-Chee
Today is one of those cold, damp Midwestern days that make me yearn for comfort food. Today, specifically, pasta. Something about a big pot of boiling water on the stove, a nice sauce simmering and a glass of wine to unwind take me to my happy place. Well, really, my happy place is a beach in Fiji, but this has to be a close second tonight.
This is an easy 30 minute, one pot meal that comes together quickly, but still leaves plenty of time to unwind and have a second glass of wine while the sauce simmers. The Italian sausages, peppers and onions smell so good when they're browning and then to bring everything together in a wonderful homemade red sauce is truly heaven on earth.
Skillet Italian Sausage & Peppers with Penne, courtesy of Oh Sweet Basil on Pinterest
Ingredients:
12 ounces whole-wheat penne pasta
1 pound Italian sausage links (1 package)
1 small green pepper, sliced
1 small red pepper, sliced
1 small yellow onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup red wine (merlot or pinot noir)
6 ounces tomato paste
8 ounces tomato sauce
12 ounces water
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
parmesan cheese for finishing
Directions:
In a large pot of salted water, cook pasta until al dente, reserve starchy cooking water.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Brown sausages on all sides, until almost cooked through, remove and cut into 1/4 inch slices. You don't have to worry about cooking them all the way through, they will finish cooking while the sauce simmers.
In the same pan drizzle another teaspoon or so of olive oil and sauté the peppers and onions until slightly softened, about five minutes.
Return sausage back to the pan and deglaze with red wine.
Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, Italian seasoning, sugar and salt. Stir to combine.
Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for ten minutes.
Add penne to the skillet, toss with sauce. If needed add starchy pasta water to loosen the sauce up.
Season with salt and pepper and garnish with grated parmesan cheese.
Notes:
I didn't have red wine on hand, so I used white, I also considered using beef broth to deglaze the pan. I used the starchy pasta water for the 12 ounces of water that the recipe calls for, I used brown sugar instead of white and threw in a container of mushrooms. I doubled the sauce ingredients, because I like a lot of sauce and am going to freeze half of it. I actually almost threw everything before the sauce part on a brat bun and called it good!
I served this with a lettuce salad and crusty French bread that I spread with Chive-Goat Cheese Spread (recipe below).
Chive-Goat Cheese Spread, courtesy of Epicurious on Pinterest
Ingredients:
6 tbsp. Chives, fresh
1 Garlic Clove
4 oz Cream cheese, softened
8 oz Goat cheese, softened
Directions:
Mix everything together in a bowl with a fork. Can chill before serving or serve immediately.
Notes:
I was going to use this as a base for sandwiches like the recipe on Pinterest describes, but my husband and I have kind of gone crazy with it, putting it on French bread and crackers that I don't know if there will be enough left. It would be really good on a ham sandwich if I can get it that far!
