From The Complete Sausage Book (Ten Speed Press), Bruce Aidells notes: If some unexpected guests show up for dinner or you are tired after a long day, all you need is some sausage in the freezer and some dried pasta on the shelf, and you can whip up a simple but delicious meal in minutes.
Ingredients
1 pound
dried pasta
3/4 pound
Italian sausage
1/2 cup
white wine -- AND/OR
1 cup
heavy cream -- AND/OR
1 cup
chicken stock -- AND/OR
1 cup
chopped tomatoes
grated parmesan cheese
sundried tomatoes -- optional
blanched spring vegetables -- optional
sliced mushrooms -- optional
Instructions
1.
For 1 pound of dried pasta (enough to feed 4 people generously), you'll need 1/2 to 3/4 pound of sausage removed from the casings and chopped coursely. While you care cooking the pasta, fry the sausage in a skillet until it is no longer pink. Drain off and discard the grease. To make a quick and easy sauce, add some liquid (wine, and/or cream, and/or stock, and/or chopped tomatoes), perhaps a few sun-dried tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, or blanched spring vegetables, or any combination of the above. Cook the sauce down over a high flame until it just begins to thicken. Taste for salt and pepper and mix with the cooked, drained pasta. Sprinkle with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top and enjoy!
