Penne with Hot Italian Sausage and Arugula

Here’s another entry my growing list of “there’s nothing to eat in this house’ recipes. This is a one pot wonder (unless you want to boil the pasta in a separate pot while you make the rest of the recipe) – pasta recipe with Italian sausage and arugula.

The hot Italian sausage was sitting in my freezer so I thawed it in the morning and made this easy pasta dish for dinner, all in 20 minutes.

Don’t have penne pasta on hand? No worries, use any dry pasta you have in your pantry.

Ingredients:

• ½ pound dry penne pasta (I LOVE Delverde pasta)
• 1 Tbsp. salt (for pasta water)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ tsp. each salt and black pepper
• 4 links hot Italian sausage (could use mild if you don’t like hot), removed from the casings
• 5-ounce bag of baby arugula
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp. softened butter combined with 1 Tbsp. flour to make a paste (called beurre manié)
• ¼ cup freshly-shaved (or grated) Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan over high heat, bring water to a boil. Add the salt and pasta and cook one minute less than recommended on the pasta packaging. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same pan, warm the oil over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the salt and pepper and cook for 15 seconds. Add the sausage and break down with a wooden spoon into bit-size chunks. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the arugula and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
4. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the wine and broth and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the beurre manié and stir into the sauce until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
7. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and gently stir to coat. Continue cooking for 1 minute.
8. Serve the pasta with the Parmesan.

Makes 2 servings.