Pasta with Sausage, Peas & Mushrooms

If you know our family very well, we unapologetically consume a lot of rice (almost every other meal, to be honest).  I have to admit, I feel a sense of guilt at times for feeding my family too much grains, although my little Sweetpea does not really complain for the fact that she also has acquired the same taste bud as her Mama but as to hubby, it's a different story.  He has not eaten that much rice in his entire existence until we got married.  So, in fairness to him, i sporadically make him pasta dishes (out of guilt, mostly) as his "treat"(as what he calls it), and this particular one is one of them!

I tried the original version of this dish using the farfalle pasta countless times.  Unfortunately, there's something about farfalle and me that are not quite simpatico (although, hubby loves it), so the last time I made it, I literally substituted spaghetti noodles to suit the dish to my liking.  To our surprise, what a difference it made...it's like bringing a good dish to another notch!  The three of us really enjoyed it a lot!  We even split the leftovers the next day.  A warm baked baguette and some green salad would be a perfect combo to go with it.  That's the beauty of home cooking, you get to play, change a bit, adjust the recipe to meet your palate's needs.  Hope you enjoy!


Ingredients:

1/4 or more of extra virgin olive oil
1 pound turkey sausage or sweet pork sausage (our preference), casings removed
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 oz. cremini or button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 (10 oz.) package frozen peas, slightly defrosted
1 pound spaghetti noodles (our preference) or farfalle pasta
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese


In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil.

In a large saute pan over high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season sausage with salt and pepper.  Add sausage and saute, breaking any large lumps until golden brown.  Add a drizzle of olive oil if pan is getting dry, add chopped mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.  Saute until all the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated, about 5 minutes or longer.  Add the peas and saute for 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

When the pot of water has come to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until al dente (follow pasta box's cooking time instructions).  Drain in a colander.  Add pasta to sauteed sausage.  Combine thoroughly and gently cook over medium heat for few minutes more until pasta is completely cooked to your liking and fully incorporated with the sausage.  Drizzle in remaining olive oil.  If it gets too dry don't hesitate to add more oil, if necessary.  Check the seasoning.  Turn off the heat and add the grated cheese.  Stir well and serve in a large bowl.


Yield: 4 servings

*Recipe adapted from Foodnetwork, Giada de Laurentiis with our miniscule changes to suit our taste buds.