Well. It was a good thing Stephen and I made it to the gym this evening. Since it's the middle of the week and we've been pretty busy, I wanted something that would be tasty but not take forever to pull together. Tonight's meal of orechiette with sausage, beans and mascarpone fit the bill, but will my pants still fit? Only time will tell...
Stephen says: Those little orechiette don't look like ears...They look like bra cups.
Stephen's rating: 9
Notes: This is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and while I am posting the original recipe here, I made a number of modifications since the original seemed a little bland. I added two minced garlic cloves, a teaspoon of red pepper flakes, a little more sausage, and instead of using the pasta water I used white wine. I also subbed fresh basil for the oregano. Make sure you're pretty liberal with the salt and pepper on this one--it really brings out the mild flavor of the cheese.
I like that the recipe calls for turkey sausage--given the cheese, pork sausage would have been far too rich.
Serving suggestions: A simple green salad and fresh fruit are perfect. We also had a glass of Hedge's CMS--a great red blend.
Recipe
Courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
1 pound orechiette pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound turkey sausage, casing removed
1 small onion, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
In a large, heavy skillet warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onions. Using a wooden spoon break up the sausage into bite-sized pieces as it browns. Continue cooking until the sausage is golden and the onions are tender. Add the beans and oregano cook for 2 more minutes. Add the cup of pasta cooking liquid and stir, scrapping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the mascarpone cheese and stir until it dissolved into a light sauce. Add the salt, pepper, and hot pasta. Stir until coated and serve.
4 comments:
That looks really good. I love pasta!
You guys have a really awesome food blog! I love that you guys rate your cooking/baking too. That's a great idea. By any chance are you two from Oregon State University? For some reason you guys look so familiar.
I saw Smitten Kitchen make orechiette once and I thought "that is so cute I have to try it." (I like cute food!)
I had never even heard of it before. It's not really all that heard of around here - not that I'm from a small town - I'm not! It looks tasty - and a good shape to hold some sauce ...
That looks great. I tried that kind of pasta for the first time over the weekend at Olive Garden. It reminded me of little hats, that were stacked on top of each other (since they were sticking together) LOL. :)
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