I have loved this pasta for almost two decades. It is one of the first recipes I started making when I decided I wanted to take cooking seriously. It is true, I love any recipe with sausage, and also any and all pasta, but this is such a simple recipe of delicious flavor and surprisingly light for a sausage pasta dish. Enjoy!
Orecchiette with Sausage and Roasted Peppers
Ingredients:
1 jar of roasted red peppers (you can be super fancy and roast your own red and yellow bell peppers- 2 each, but it adds a lot of time and effort to the dish- although very delicious. Directions below.)
1 lb. orecchiette or other short pasta
2 tsp. olive oil
1 lb. ground sweet Italian sausage, removed from castings
1 Tbl. butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 C. grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
Meanwhile, disgard the juices in the jar of roasted peppers and slice the peppers into 1/4" strips or bite size pieces and heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage, breaking it up until browned. Add peppers to the sausage and cook until heated through.
Transfer sausage mixture to bowl and add pasta, butter, reserved pasta water and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
Roasting your own peppers:
IF you want to roast you own peppers here's how you do it. Again, it takes more time and effort, but the fresh roasted flavor and juices can be worth it if you have both. ;)
Core peppers and discard ribs and seeds. Heat broiler. Place peppers, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; broil 4 inches from heat until charred, 18-20 minutes (the mare char the easier they will be to peal). Transfer the peppers to a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so they steam 2-3 minutes. Using a paper towel, rub off the pepper skins, reserving any juices in the bowl. Thinly slice the peppers crosswise into 1/4" strips, return to bowl and use in recipe above.
Either way serve with a crusty bread, a salad and either a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir pair perfectly.
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