There is no need to add any oil or butter to this dish, as the natural fat from the sausage serves the purpose. Low fat options can be used as a substitute to the sweet Italian pork sausage, such as chicken or turkey sausage, but 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil may be required to prevent the sausage and vegetables from sticking and charring.
This recipe is highly adaptable and the amounts of vegetables can be modified to taste. Using red and yellow peppers adds a nice depth of color when serving this dish to company, but it can be made more cost effectively by using green bell peppers instead of red and yellow peppers, which generally cost upwards of one dollar more per pound.
In this busy world, simple, practical and affordable meals are essential. With essential vitamins and minerals contained in the peppers and spinach, this dish is not only nutritious, but a crowd pleaser as well! With a total preparation and cook time of 25 minutes and an average cost of about $1.50 per person, it’s an all around winner!
Sausage and Peppers with Bowties Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 12 ounce box bowtie pasta
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
- 2 cups sliced red and yellow peppers
- 1 cup sliced sweet onion
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- 12 ounces baby spinach
- 1 tbs fresh chopped basil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
- ¼ dry white wine
- ¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese
Method
- Cook pasta according to package instructions.
- While boiling the water and cooking the pasta, prepare and measure the remainder of ingredients.
- Using a sharp meat knife, half and slice sweet sausage into bite sized pieces. Remove casings if desired.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. The pan needs to be large enough to fit cooked pasta as well as the sausage and vegetables.
- Once heated, add sausage and garlic and cook sausage until no longer pink, stirring to brown all sides of the sausage, about five minutes.
- Season with salt, pepper and paprika.
- Add peppers and onions and coat well with oil and seasoning put out from the cooked sausage. Cook until tender, about five minutes. Remove from heat.
- In the meantime, place spinach in the bottom of a colander. Before draining pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water in a bowl.
- Drain pasta into colander with spinach. This will cook the spinach.
- Transfer the pasta and spinach into the pan with the sausage, peppers and onions. Stir well to incorporate. Return to medium high heat and add ½ cup of reserved pasta water and ¼ cup of wine. Season with additional salt, pepper and paprika to taste.
- Bring to a boil to reduce the liquid and remove alcohol content from the wine. Make sure to use a wine that is suitable for serving as a beverage. (There are many delicious, affordable wines, such as Barefoot, a California wine, that costs around $4.00 a bottle.)
- Remove from heat once the liquid is absorbed and stir in the Pecorino Romano cheese and fresh chopped basil.
This recipe serves 6-8 large servings.
Christin Aitchison - Christin is a freelance writer who has targeted the children's market for the past five years. Her publishing credits include Highlights ...
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