Orecchiette with Sausage, Beans and Mustard Greens
IMG_5204

Sorry, I guess I am on a sausage and pasta kick? The good news for the vegetarians is that this is probably a great dish without the meat!

This pasta had every intention of being a soup yesterday. But when my husband kind of rolled his eyes at the thought of less than a big, full plate of carbohydrates on his plate, I had to adapt. My daughter loves the “circle pasta” and so this dish was born.

By the way, much to my shock, (honestly) Pia said she really liked it. When I asked her why, she said, “the beans are really good mom.” Mental note to self: she likes cannellini beans…. At least for today.

IMG_5194

Obviously, my husband just likes anything with sausage, or any meat product really.

I was in for the mustard greens. This was my first (very exciting!!) time cooking with them. To tell the truth, I just tasted them for the first time recently. I ripped off a little piece of the raw, (and very pretty) greens and chewed them up. They are aptly named- they taste like spicy mustard. Well, I love spicy mustard! Good green for me- and thank the stars above, they seem to have replaced the never ending stream of kale in my produce bin, (not that there is anything wrong with kale! And it would actually be a good substitute for the mustard greens if in a pinch).

IMG_5188

So, in summary: great, spicy, flavorful dish, full of different textures and actually full of healthy nutritious products (I used lean chicken sausage!). Great Monday night meal, I made it in 15 minutes last night, and served with a green salad you are golden!

 

Recipe: Orecchiette with Sausage, Beans and Mustard Greens

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Orecchiette pasta or other short pasta
  • 5 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 lb spicy chicken sausage
  • 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 large bunch mustard greens, chopped (I think this was about 6-8 cups worth)
  • 1/3 cup of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
  • Kosher salt and Black pepper to taste
  • Freshly Grated Parmesan

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  2. While you are waiting for the water to boil, place a large sauté pan over medium heat.
  3. Put 2Tbs of the olive oil in the pan.
  4. Squeeze the sausage from the casing into the pan.
  5. Break the sausage up into bite sized pieces with a wooden spoon.
  6. Cook over medium heat until the sausage is nice and brown and is cooked through.
  7. Move the sausage from the pan and place in a bowl, leaving the juice and oil in the pan.
  8. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to manufacturers directions. (But be prepared to take the pasta out before it is done so that it can finish cooking with the rest of the ingredients.)
  9. Add 1 additional Tbs of oil to the pan. Add the mustard greens to the pan.
  10. Stir to coat the greens with oil. When they have wilted down after a few minutes, add the sausage back in and the beans.
  11. Drain the pasta. Reserving about 2 cups of the pasta liquid.
  12. Pour the pasta into the large pan with the rest of the ingredients. Add aabout ½ cup of water at a time to make sure that the pasta isn’t dry, and it is still cooking.
  13. When the pasta is cooked through (which should take a couple minutes), add most of the parsley.
  14. Toss to coat.
  15. Pour the pasta into a serving bowl, and sprinkle with cheese and the rest of the parsley. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Stir to combine.
  16. (Salt and Pepper to taste at this point)
  17. Serve hot with a more cheese! Enjoy!

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

 

IMG_5204

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Categorized: Pasta
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Orecchiette with Sausage, Beans and Mustard Greens
IMG_5204

Sorry, I guess I am on a sausage and pasta kick? The good news for the vegetarians is that this is probably a great dish without the meat!

This pasta had every intention of being a soup yesterday. But when my husband kind of rolled his eyes at the thought of less than a big, full plate of carbohydrates on his plate, I had to adapt. My daughter loves the “circle pasta” and so this dish was born.

By the way, much to my shock, (honestly) Pia said she really liked it. When I asked her why, she said, “the beans are really good mom.” Mental note to self: she likes cannellini beans…. At least for today.

IMG_5194

Obviously, my husband just likes anything with sausage, or any meat product really.

I was in for the mustard greens. This was my first (very exciting!!) time cooking with them. To tell the truth, I just tasted them for the first time recently. I ripped off a little piece of the raw, (and very pretty) greens and chewed them up. They are aptly named- they taste like spicy mustard. Well, I love spicy mustard! Good green for me- and thank the stars above, they seem to have replaced the never ending stream of kale in my produce bin, (not that there is anything wrong with kale! And it would actually be a good substitute for the mustard greens if in a pinch).

IMG_5188

So, in summary: great, spicy, flavorful dish, full of different textures and actually full of healthy nutritious products (I used lean chicken sausage!). Great Monday night meal, I made it in 15 minutes last night, and served with a green salad you are golden!

 

Recipe: Orecchiette with Sausage, Beans and Mustard Greens

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Orecchiette pasta or other short pasta
  • 5 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 lb spicy chicken sausage
  • 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 large bunch mustard greens, chopped (I think this was about 6-8 cups worth)
  • 1/3 cup of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
  • Kosher salt and Black pepper to taste
  • Freshly Grated Parmesan

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  2. While you are waiting for the water to boil, place a large sauté pan over medium heat.
  3. Put 2Tbs of the olive oil in the pan.
  4. Squeeze the sausage from the casing into the pan.
  5. Break the sausage up into bite sized pieces with a wooden spoon.
  6. Cook over medium heat until the sausage is nice and brown and is cooked through.
  7. Move the sausage from the pan and place in a bowl, leaving the juice and oil in the pan.
  8. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to manufacturers directions. (But be prepared to take the pasta out before it is done so that it can finish cooking with the rest of the ingredients.)
  9. Add 1 additional Tbs of oil to the pan. Add the mustard greens to the pan.
  10. Stir to coat the greens with oil. When they have wilted down after a few minutes, add the sausage back in and the beans.
  11. Drain the pasta. Reserving about 2 cups of the pasta liquid.
  12. Pour the pasta into the large pan with the rest of the ingredients. Add aabout ½ cup of water at a time to make sure that the pasta isn’t dry, and it is still cooking.
  13. When the pasta is cooked through (which should take a couple minutes), add most of the parsley.
  14. Toss to coat.
  15. Pour the pasta into a serving bowl, and sprinkle with cheese and the rest of the parsley. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Stir to combine.
  16. (Salt and Pepper to taste at this point)
  17. Serve hot with a more cheese! Enjoy!

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

 

IMG_5204

Recipe by Heather Christo (http://heatherchristo.com)