Saturday, June 21, 2008

Penne with broccoli, turkey sausage & basil


Okay...another new meat experiment. This one was not so easy. Slicing uncooked sausage on the diagonal? Easier said than done! I think that if I try this again in the future, I'll grill the sausage halfway first.

This turned out really nice, despite the sausage mishaps. It had a nice light flavor, and the fresh basil was the perfect touch! I doubled this recipe, by the way, which is why it looks like such a massive amount in the picture.

Ingredients:
  • 12 oz. penne pasta
  • 1 large bunch of broccoli, cut into florets
  • 12 oz. hot Italian turkey sausage
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated romano or parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Directions:
  • Heat large saucepot salted water to boiling on high. Add pasta and cook according to label. Add broccoli florets to pasta water when 3 minutes of cooking time remain. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water; drain pasta and broccoli.
  • Meanwhile, thinly slice sausage on the diagonal (here is where I would recommend to grill the sausages to halfway cooked before slicing).
  • In 12-inch skilletcook sausage on medium 9-10 minutes or until it begins to brown, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes and garlic and cook 3 minutes longer, stirring.
  • Stir pasta, broccoli and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water into sausage mixture; heat through, adding additional water if needed.
  • Remove from heat, stir in basil, cheese and red pepper.

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