Sausage, artichoke heart and sun dried tomato pasta is yummy!
I bought the cookbook, “Giada’s family dinners”, awhile ago and I must admit I only made one recipe from it. My mother-in-law loves Giada’s TV show on the food channel, and I have watched the show with her. One of the things I like about her food is the fresh, healthy ingredients and the relatively simple recipes that she creates. So when I needed inspiration for dinner the other day I decided to take her cookbook out and try something new.
I love trying different types of pasta sauces. My son helped me pick out this recipe, and my daughter was my sous chef. There is a bit of chopping, so give yourself enough time. Also, after cooking the sausage I cooled it down and hand crumbled the meat.
Ingredients:
2/4 cup + oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced, 2 tablespoons oil reserved
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 1/2 boxes frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 large garlic cloves, chopped fine or pressed 1 3/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth 1/2 cup dry white wine salt to taste
1 box penne pasta 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for the table 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, drained and cubed freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil reserved from the tomatoes in a skillet and cook the sausage, breaking up the pieces as you go along until it is nicely browned. Transfer the sausage to a bowl. Add the artichokes and garlic to the pan, and saute over medium heat about 2 minutes. Add the broth, wine, and sun-dried tomatoes Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces slightly, about 8-10 minutes. Hand crumble the sausage while the sauce reduces.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the penne and cook, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking to each other. Cook al dente, about 10 minutes.
Drain pasta, do not rinse. Add the pasta, sausage, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, the basil, and the parsley to the artichoke mixture in a large serving bowl and toss until the pasta has absorbed a good amount of the sauce. Add the mozzarella. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve with more parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
