As I mentioned in our last post, pasta is not exactly my favorite food. With that said, YOU MUST MAKE THIS RECIPE!!! It’s amazing! This recipe is based on one of Gordon Ramsay’s recipes in Home Cooking, but with some important changes. First, I (at minimum) recommend doubling the garlic from the original recipe because, as my lovely wife said, “Who uses just one clove of garlic?!” In any real Italian pasta sauce, you can almost taste the garlic just by looking at it.
To help balance the dish a little more (nutritionally) and add some interesting flavors and textures, I also add spinach and pine nuts. The spinach because, well, sometimes I don’t eat my greens. And the pine nuts? Because they make the flavor a little more complex and give it a nice crunch. One of the reasons I never liked pasta was the texture—it’s boring and mushy (unless you cook it al dente, and I recommend that you do). The nuts give the dish a more interesting texture. Finally, and this is optional for those who like a little kick in their meals, I added some crushed red chili pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Fettuccine with Light Meat Sauce
Makes: 2 Servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 mintues
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 (or more) cloves of fresh minced garlic
½ large sweet onion, chopped
3 sweet Italian sausage links, casings removed
10 oz container of cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
⅓ lb freshly made or dry fettuccine
4 oz fresh baby spinach
⅛ cup toasted pine nuts
2 tsp crushed red chili pepper flakes (optional)
Finely grated parmesan cheese for serving
1. Begin heating a pot of salted water over medium-high heat for the pasta.
2. In a large non-stick skillet, heat up the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking.
3. Add the garlic and onion to the skillet. Heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
4. Crumble the sausage meat into the skillet in small chunks (around 1/2-inch to 1-inch pieces), and brown on all sides. If you have any big chunks, break them up while you’re browning (5-7 minutes).
5. Add the halved tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and have mostly fallen apart apart. There should be some liquid in the pan at this point—that’s the sauce! (about 6-8 minutes)
6. When the tomatoes are about halfway done, put the pasta in the pot of salted water (which should be boiling at this point), and cook according to the instructions. If you’re using homemade pasta, boil for about 5 minutes. Stir the pasta right after you put it in the water so it doesn’t stick together. When the pasta is done, reserve ½ cup of the water and set aside.
7. After the pasta has been cooking for 2-3 minutes, turn down the skillet containing the sauce to medium heat. Add the spinach and cook until wilted (2 minutes).
8. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet. Mix with the sauce immediately to prevent it from sticking.
9. Add the saved water, pine nuts, and red pepper flakes and mix the contents of the skillet by tossing.
10. When all of the ingredients are mixed, serve and top with finely-grated parmesan cheese.
(Adapted from “Tagliatelle with Quick Sausage-Meat Bolognese” in Home Cooking by Gordon Ramsay)