Fresh Picked Pasta Primavera

What a whirlwind couple of weeks! We have been having some repeat dinners from the blog posts but other than that, I landed my dream job and we traveled to Sandpoint for a very important anniversary of my mom's 39th birthday.  All good things, except for my poor pup Oliver who was left in Boise for the fun trip up north and will be left at home by himself a whole lot more really soon!

Last night Chuck did great making a light, healthy, filling dinner.  He was just as surprised as I was that he made dinner without butter or cream.  He's definitely getting the hang of this! And it was just as great reheated for lunch today!

Fresh Picked Pasta Primavera

Ingredients:

     3 links             Sausage (we used chicken andouille)
     1/2#                Orecchiette pasta
     1" slice            Medium red onion, then further sliced thinly
     1/2#                Mushrooms, sliced
     1 med.             Zucchini, coarsely chopped
     2/3                  Orange bell pepper, coarsely chopped
     1/2#                Grape tomatoes, halved
     3/4 c.              Sauvignon Blanc at room temp (chill the rest to drink with dinner!)
     8-10 leaves     Fresh basil
     2 T                   Fresh Italian Parsley
                              Fresh grated Parmesan cheese to taste
                              Kosher salt
                              Fresh cracked black pepper
                              Olive oil 

Directions:

     1:     Cut sausage into bite sized pieces and brown over medium heat in a large pan.  Get 
                    your pasta water heating.  Prep the veggies while the sausage is browning.

     2:     Remove sausage from the pan once browned and remove almost all of the drippings, 
                    leaving a tablespoon or so and place back over medium heat.
     3:     Drizzle a little olive oil into the pan and add the red onions and a pinch of salt and 
                    pepper.    

     4:     Salt your pasta water.
     5:     Add the mushrooms, zucchini, and orange bell pepper with another pinch of salt and 
                     pepper.

     6:     Once they start to soften, add your pasta to your boiling water.
     7:     Add the tomatoes and wine to your pot of veggies followed by the browned sausage.

     8:     When pasta is al dente, transfer to a collander and then immediately add to your 
                      mixture. Don't rinse the pasta or allow to drain entirely. Stir everything 
                      together.

     9:     Chiffonade the basil, chop the parsley, and add them to the pan. Stir together

    
 10:   Grate the Parmesan over the top of the dish to taste and stir in.

We enjoyed this with a loaf of lemon rosemary foccacia from a local bakery and used Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc.  Tasty!

 

And some pictures from our weekend!