Italian Chicken Sausage Pasta
This is a very delicious recipe that I came up with one night. I normally split half hot and half mild Italian Chicken Sausage and any pasta I have on hand. Served with Garlic Bread and Salad Yummy
This is a very delicious recipe that I came up with one night. I normally split half hot and half mild Italian Chicken Sausage and any pasta I have on hand. Served with Garlic Bread and Salad Yummy
- 1 salt and pepper to taste
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 1 pound italian chicken sausage casing removed
- 8 oz crimini mushrooms quartered
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 1 green bell pepper sliced
- 1 small zucchini sliced
- 0.25 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 jar tomato and basil pasta sauce
- 8 oz pasta
- parmigiano-reggiano to taste
- Carbohydrate 45.1475257291667 g
- Cholesterol 99.1733333333333 mg
- Fat 34.9412023958333 g
- Fiber 1.66805000356833 g
- Protein 26.4423426041667 g
- Saturated Fat 12.4475122916667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (373g)
- Sodium 2013.90614583333 mg
- Sugar 43.4794757255983 g
- Trans Fat 2.19976593749999 g
- Calories 600 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook pasta per instructions on package
- In the mean time, while water for pasta is heating, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet, add sausage and saute till cooked and brown. Remove sausage and keep warm.
- In the same skillet add the remaining olive oil, add onions and crimini mushrooms and cook for about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add garlic and stir and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Now add bell peppers an zucchini, season to liking with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, stir and cook for approximately 3-5 minutes, add sausage back to skillet and add pasta sauce. Stir, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally.
- When pasta is done combine both, serve and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano
Sausage loses its moisture quickly if overcrowded, making pan surface area the most critical factor in achieving proper browning. Browning requires direct contact between the meat and a hot pan, so brown the meat in batches if a single skillet cannot accommodate the quantity in a single layer. Italian chicken sausage lacking pork casing benefits from careful handling with wooden spatulas to preserve texture without crumbling the meat into fine paste.
Judging Doneness and Storage
Visual cues dictate when vegetables reach optimal tenderness without losing structure. Onions should turn translucent and crimini mushrooms need to release their internal moisture and shrink by half before aromatics enter the pan. Garlic burns within thirty seconds of direct heat contact, turning bitter and acrid, so add minced cloves only after the mushrooms soften. Simmering the sauce and browned proteins together for fifteen to twenty minutes allows the starches in the pasta sauce to thicken naturally.
- Freezing cooked pasta dishes alters starch structure; freeze the sauce and sausage mixture separately from the pasta for up to three months.
- Reheat leftovers gently on the stove with two tablespoons of water added to reconstitute the sauce consistency.
- Substitute yellow onions with shallots at a two-to-one ratio if standard onions are unavailable.
