Sweet Basil Pesto Sausage Cavatappi

Sweet Basil Pesto Sausage Cavatappi. This recipe is a combination of my popular Pasta Fagioli and Hearty Rigatoni with Italian Sausage recipes. I’ve changed the herbs and some ingredients slightly. After all, pasta dishes should be easy to put together on busy weekend nights with whatever ingredients you have on hand, right?

This is a pretty simple dish using the unique and twisty cavatappi pasta. Cavatappi is a favorite pasta when I’m making a tasty sauce. This curvy pasta slurps up the sauce and just makes the dish even better.

Just boil the cavatappi pasta while you are making the sauce. To make the sauce, saute some chopped sweet basil pesto sausages in olive oil. I like to use Trader Joe’s sausages although you could substitute your favorite Italian sausage.

Mix in some chopped onion and minced garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add dry white wine, chicken stock, red bell pepper, diced tomatoes, canned cannellini beans, cremini mushrooms, and fresh chopped rosemary leaves. While the sauce simmers and reduces, you can drain the pasta and set aside to keep warm. Just before serving, finish the sauce by stirring in a pat of unsalted butter until the butter is melted. Season with salt and pepper. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and warm through. Plate the pasta and garnish with some shredded Parmesan cheese and rosemary sprigs.

Enjoy!!

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From the kitchen of A Food Lover’s Delight….

Sweet Basil Pesto Sausage Cavatappi

Ingredients:

8 oz cavatappi pasta, cooked al dente, according to package directions
1 T olive oil
2 Trader Joe’s Sweet Basil Pesto Sausages, quartered lengthwise and then sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c dry white wine
2 c chicken stock
1/2 red bell pepper, cored and diced
1 c diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
1 c canned white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
8 oz cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
1 T chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 T unsalted butter
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 c shredded Parmesan
Rosemary sprigs, for garnish

Method:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions while you are cooking the sauce.
2. Heat a large saucepan with the olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add the sausage and cook and stir until the sausage has browned slightly.
4. Add the onion and cook until the onion is transparent.
5. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes, stirring.
6. Add the white wine and chicken stock and cook for 5 minutes, stirring.
7. Add the red bell pepper, tomatoes, cannellini beans, mushrooms and chopped rosemary. Simmer for 5 minutes or more until the sauce starts to reduce a bit.
8. Stir in the butter.
9. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
10. Add the cooked pasta to the sausage mixture and toss so that the pasta is well coated.
11. Divide the sausage pasta amongst serving bowls.
12. Sprinkle with the shredded Parmesan, add a rosemary sprig, and serve!

Serves 4 as a main course and 8 as a pasta course. As a main course, offer with my Cheesy Garlic Rosemary Toast and my Insalata Caprese or my Colorful Confetti Salad. A dry white wine or a light red wine will pair nicely with this pasta dish.

Variations: Use your favorite sausage in this dish. Instead of using sausage, saute some chopped boneless chicken breast or ground chicken or turkey and add some additional garlic and herbs. Use penne or another pasta instead of cavatappi. As a vegetarian option, use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and omit the sausage, Parmesan cheese, and butter.

Buy five boxes of cavatappi pasta at Amazon.com and stock up your pantry:

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