I’ve always had the same type of tomato pasta where you just add vegetables and meat to a jar of pasta sauce and serve. But one fateful day, I had Italian sausage for the first time at a restaurant. The spiciness and the herby-ness was so addicting, and I started using it to replace regular ground meat in recipes. Then came the day I made myself a quick jar tomato pasta. I usually just add ground meat if I have it, but I put Italian sausage instead. It beat every tomato pasta I had made by far.
Last winter, I went on a 2-night cabin trip with my friends. We each took over a meal to cook for everyone. I was in charge of the first night’s dinner. I made the new Italian sausage pasta I discovered, and everyone asked my for the recipe afterwards. That’s when I knew I made something that was actually objectively delicious. I can make anything to my own liking anytime, but if everyone likes it, that’s a goldmine. So here is the recipe I shared with them, which is now by go-to recipe for a quick meal for friends.
- Ingredients:
- 6 hot Italian sausages
- 8 ounces mushroom, sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 jar tomato sauce
- up to 5 servings of any shaped pasta – I like to use fusilli or rigatoni
- 2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
- Recipe:
- cook the pasta noodles to al dente and set aside – make sure to save a cup of the pasta water
- peel the casing off the sausages and rip off chunks of the meat into a hot pan
- break down the sausages while cooking to make them and brown them on high heat
- when the outside of the sausages are browned, add the mushrooms and onions
- stir-fry on high heat until the onions are softened
- add the sundried tomatoes, garlic, herbs, black pepper, and sugar
- mix it all in until it becomes fragrant with the aroma of the herbs and garlic – about 1-2 minutes
- add the chicken stock and leave it to boil
- add the jar of tomato sauce and mix
- cover and let it boil
- taste for seasoning and adjust
- mix in the cooked pasta and turn off heat
- serve the pasta on a plate with some parsley as garnish!
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