Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Pasta with Baby Arugula and Italian Sausage

If you're anything like me, you probably have a small collection of odds and ends of pasta sitting in your pantry. Unless you're cooking for a large family or guests, it's rare that you would be using the full package. A fun way to use up small portions of pasta is to combine different shapes for one delicious meal. For this recipe I used up my short ridged pasta, rigatoni and small penne, which best soak up the tomato sauce. The rigatoni takes longer to cook, so I gave it a head start by cooking it about 4-5 minutes before adding the more delicate small penne. Adding some Italian sausage and baby arugula gives you a complete easy meal in under thirty minutes.


Ingredients:
4-6 cups cooked pasta
3 tablespoons extra virgin oil
1/2  chopped onion
1/2 small carrot chopped
1/2 celery stock chopped
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
4 cups canned tomatoes
2 Italian sausages (casing removed)
1/2 cup red wine
4 cups baby arugula

In a skillet heat the oil and saute the onions for about 3-4 minutes.Add the garlic, carrots and celery. Continue cooking for and additional 2-3 minutes. Brown the small pieces of the sausages with the vegetables.


  Stir in the tomato paste and continue cooking for a minute or so. Pour in the red wine and allow to reduce before adding the tomatoes.




Pour in the tomatoes and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes.


 Toss in the cooked pasta and the arugula. The arugula will only  take a minute to wilt and it is ready to serve.
 
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin oil

8 comments:

  1. Loving the idea of using up odds and ends of pasta and clearing my cabinets. I think arugula makes everything taste better!

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  2. Thanks Claudia,I can't agree with you more. I too love the delicate peppery taste that arugula adds to a dish.
    Hope you have a great day!

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  3. Great idea to add the arugula, so tasty!

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  4. What an awesome way to use the pasta we've all got sitting in the cabinet. Love that you used the arugula. Just adds an earthy kick.

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  5. Fantastic idea to use up the pastas together...And I love the color that the arugula adds, looks delicious :)

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  6. This looks really tastey Anna - can't wait to give it a try :)

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  7. I always have Italian sausage in my freezer, and half boxes of pastas, that just add up. I will try your version of this sauce. So delish!
    Thanks for sharing, Anna!

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  8. I love the arugula + sausage combo. Yum!

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