Skillet Penne and Sausage Supper
Absolutely delicious, simple, one-dish dinner. It's a big favorite in our family since it's got pasta, sausage, and spinach along with a creamy sauce.
Absolutely delicious, simple, one-dish dinner. It's a big favorite in our family since it's got pasta, sausage, and spinach along with a creamy sauce.
- Carbohydrate 39.776965 g
- Cholesterol 156.25875 mg
- Fat 34.4256525 g
- Fiber 2.4748750576973 g
- Protein 36.07745 g
- Saturated Fat 10.02126 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (458g)
- Sodium 1531.57475 mg
- Sugar 37.3020899423027 g
- Trans Fat 2.99346000000001 g
- Calories 610 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat the oil in a 12" nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until softened, about 5 mn.
- Stir in the sausage and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Sprinkle the tomatoes and penne evenly over the sausage. Pour the broth and cream over the pasta. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach a handful at a time and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan and season with the salt and pepper to taste.
Home cooks often drown pasta in gallons of boiling water, but cooking penne directly in a measured broth-and-cream mixture harnesses the starches released during boiling to naturally thicken the sauce without flour or cornstarch. When browning the pound of sweet Italian turkey sausage in a twelve-inch nonstick skillet, breaking the meat into small, uniform crumbles ensures even distribution and prevents large dense clumps that fail to integrate with the noodles. Maintaining a medium heat setting when introducing the minced garlic prevents scorching; garlic burns within seconds if the pan is too hot, turning acrid and ruining the aromatic foundation of the dish. As the chicken broth and heavy cream reach a boil before being reduced to a simmer, covering the skillet traps steam to cook the dry pasta uniformly while the starches leach out into the surrounding liquid. Once the penne reaches a tender bite after approximately ten minutes of simmering, folding in the baby spinach gradually prevents the cold greens from seizing the sauce and dropping the pan temperature too quickly. Stirring in the half cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese at the very end melts the dairy into the emulsion smoothly, creating a cohesive coating rather than a grainy separation. Pair this rich, savory skillet meal with a crisp, acidic green salad dressed in a sharp vinaigrette to cut through the heavy fats of the cheese and cream. Proper execution relies entirely on respecting these precise liquid ratios and thermal thresholds to transform basic pantry staples into a unified, glossy pasta dish.
