Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Rustic Penne with Sausage, Artichokes and Sun Dried Tomatoes

For those of you who applauded my food journal efforts, thank you. It was a valiant effort, but my inner beast took a hold of me and forced me to eat faster than I could write. It happens. Maybe I'll put it on 2010's list of resolutions.

Sun Dried Tomato Sausage Penne
I may eat a lot, but I can at least attempt to cook & eat healthy. This penne pasta recipe was inspired by a dish I saw in Giada's Family Dinners. I made quite a few tweaks, including adding additional veggies, using whole wheat pasta and subbing turkey sausage for the meat. In order to add a little creaminess without adding a lot of fat, I added a few dollops of part-skim ricotta cheese to thicken up the sauce. After buying a tub of ricotta on sale, I've found that it works wonders and have happily been throwing it in to just about every dish I make, whether it belongs or not!

Bowl of Penne with Artichokes, Spinach & Sun Dried TomatoesThe pasta is a hearty, easy to throw together meal that filled us up. We happily had the dish for leftovers the next night. Instead of microwaving, which tends to dry out pasta in my opinion, I threw the leftover pasta into a wok with some olive oil, broccoli, a few more scoops of ricotta cheese and finally green peas. We liked this version the best so I've included it in the recipe below.
whole Wheat Penne with Artichokes
Rustic Penne with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes & Sausage (and too many other goodies for a recipe title...)
Inspired by Giada's Family Dinners

3/4 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced with 2 tbsp of oil reserved
1 large link (1/2 lb) of sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 large link (1/2 lb) of hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
2 8 oz packages of artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped & thawed
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup frozen green peas
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
12 oz whole wheat penne
1/2 cup freshly grated good-quality Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup loosley packed baby spinach
cooked broccoli florets (optional)

1. Heat 2 tbsp of sun dried tomato oil in a large skillet. Add the sausage and break up into pieces. Cook until brown, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl.

2. Add artichokes & garlic to the same skillet and cook until garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, wine, and sun dried tomatoes. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer until the sauce reduces slightly, about 8 minutes. Add peas & red pepper flakes.

3. While sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes. Drain the pasta, do not rinse.

4. Add pasta, sausage, 1/2 cup of cheese, parsley, spinach, and broccoli (if using) to the mixture. Toss until combined. Add two scoops of Ricotta cheese and continue to toss until cheese is melted and incorporated in sauce. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.

36 comments:

Mila said...

MMMM looks yummy...an your pictures look great! Very rustic!

pigpigscorner said...

Look so good! Should be very tasty with the sausage!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Gorgeous dish!!

Unknown said...

this sounds fantastic, right up my alley!

Melissa said...

Sounds good. I love sundried tomatoes and turkey sausage.

kat said...

That does sounds wonderful

Maria said...

What a comforting dish! This one has it all!

Pam said...

What a tasty looking pasta dish. Love the artichokes!

Anonymous said...

Looks fab. I love the flavour combinations - sun dried tomatoes add such a depth of flavour.

grace said...

surely ricotta belongs everywhere, and the same goes for sun-dried tomatoes. great dish, sharon! :)

That Girl said...

It looks like a baked dish - but comes together so much more quickly.

Scate said...

If Giada can eat it - it should be fine, right? I love the changes you made with the leftovers. It's always nice to switch it up a little if eating 2 days in a row.

Sophie said...

I'll have to buy some ricotta now! I like to throw in little bits of cheese to various dishes, but the ricotta would add such a tasty creaminess!

Esi said...

Yummm, rustic food is the best food in my opinion!

Bunny said...

Oh wow this looks great Sharon!! i could definetly he more than my fare share of this!

skinnybovineskitchen said...

i don't know if there is anything i love more than pasta. i often call myself "carb woman". this looks fabulous, sharon! and the ricotta idea is brilliant.

Snooky doodle said...

super delicous I m hungry now. I like the addition of ricotta so yummy

Kim in the Kitchen said...

Hi Sharon! I tried an old recipe of yours and gave you a shout out on my blog. Check it out! Thanks for the recipe too!

Ana Powell said...

Hi Sharon
I love your dishes and your photos are really beautiful.
Have a great weekend x

tigerfish said...

sounds like the kind of pasta i like cos it's got tomatoes :)

The Blonde Duck said...

I love rustic dishes like this! I told my husband the messier food is, the more I like it.

Anonymous said...

great dish - perfect w/ the sausage crumbled instead of sliced. mmmm.

krysta said...

pasta with sausage and anything else is always good!

vanillasugarblog said...

you know I still dream of those pastry bundles you recently made! I love artichokes, so I naturally would love this dish.

Garrett said...

Ooooh, looks delicious! The thought of doing the food journal struck me a while ago, until I realized that I mostly eat the same things over and over again. Since I'm only cooking for one, my dishes usually last me a week =P

Anonymous said...

i would love this with turkey sausage since i don't eat pork. so everyday, this dish is. nice work.

Unknown said...

Sound like the perfect pasta dish. I bet it was great, especially with the artichokes!

MaryBeth said...

Great looking pics...The foods looks pretty darn good too.

Anonymous said...

Nice healthy sub-ins. And yes ricotta thrown in everywhere is awesome isn't it?

test it comm said...

That pasta sounds tasty. I like the use of the whole wheat pasta.

Zesty Cook said...

Sharon this looks amazing! Great job. I will have two servings please :)

Aggie said...

This looks and sounds absolutely fantastic!!! All my favorite things!

Michele said...

Hey! I just stumbled across your blog today and I'm thinking YUMMY!!! I love Giada and have all her cookbooks. I think your addition of Ricotta is great! When I was younger (and less concerned about my weight) I would add a nice big dollop of ricotta on top of my pasta every Sunday!

Beyond Curries said...

All the pictures are so good. I can try this pasta without the meat. We are going through a pasta phase.

Miranda said...

Your site rocks!!!!
Thanks!!!

Anonymous said...

I know what it's like to buy a tub of something and want to throw it into everything! For me it's fromage frais, which is a French cheese that has the consistency of yogurt but sort of plays the role of your ricotta scenario. I found the fat free stuff, and now I can't get enough of it!