~ Sauasage, Cannellini, Kale, Tomato, Parmigiano, Gemelli Pasta ~
It’s always a shock to our family food supply when school is out and the kids are suddenly home for 3 meals a day. Add to that one freshly minted 18 year-old performing landscape construction as a summer day job who actually requires 6 meals a day.
Faced with the prospect of whipping up a satisfying and filling dinner last week when our fridge was beyond bare to begin with (all the good stuff had gone to our annual beach BBQ feast) I had to think creatively and fast. There was one overlooked packet of sausages that had escaped the BBQ unscathed, so I decided to prepare a sturdy meaty pasta dish, embellished with the pantry’s cannellini beans and a few lone plum tomatoes rolling around on the kitchen counter. Luckily there was a bunch of curly kale in the fridge, and while tempted to make a salad just for me, I checked myself and dumped the whole lot into the pasta bowl. If this wouldn’t fill ’em up nothing would.
Sausage, Kale and White Bean Pasta
Serves 4
1 small bunch curly kale, tough ribs removed, torn in bite size pieces
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt
1 pound pasta, such as gemelli, fusilli, farfalle
8 ounces Italian sausages, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained
3 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano cheese, divided
Handful of Italian parsley, chopped
Place the kale, 1 tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Toss the kale with your hands while rubbing the oil into the leaves. This will help to soften them. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and brown on both sides, turning once, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the beans, tomatoes, garlic, chili flakes, and black pepper. Cook, stirring once or twice until heated through, about 2 minutes. Taste for salt and adjust seasoning as needed. Transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the pasta, kale, half of the cheese and the parsley. Toss to combine. Add more cheese to taste and serve any extra with the pasta.
If you like this, you might enjoy these easy pasta recipes from TasteFood:
Gemelli with Roasted Tomatoes and Arugula
Spaghetti with Broccolini, Breadcrumbs and Chili Flakes
Orecchiette with Bacon and Brussel Sprouts
Yum!
Lovely – could even be eaten at room temp on a steamy day –
Fabulous recipe! I know I would leave the table stuffed! I agree about the summer vacations and the grocery bill! Ouch! I have the same situation over here. Can not keep enough food in the house for the athletic 15 year old son! 😉 I love how you put this together. Great textures, flavors and it is quite beautiful too!
A mouthwatering and colorful summer salad!
Cheers,
Rosa
What a great, hearty pasta!
Love this, Lynda!! So easy to make vegetarian or non. And filling enough for a summer entree.
This looks comforting, filling, and delicious. My husband thinks everything should have sausage in too. Good news is we have all the kale we want from a close by farm, complimentary and we get our sausage made from a local sustainable butcher. All we need now is the pasta!
I think you did extremely well for an improvised recipe! Hearty, tasty, and will definitely keep everyone happy for at least a couple of hours.. 🙂
If only my daughter enjoyed kale! Perhaps I can sneak in those tender baby kale leaves I’ve been seeing at the store and she won’t notice with all the lovely flavor from the sausage and spices! An outstanding dinner recipe!
Yum! I wish I had kale in my garden for this. Maybe I will make a run to the store soon… Gorgeous photo!
Oohhh….I think I have most of these ingredients in the pantry, you may be seeing a close relative of this dish on Oui, Chef soon! Brilliant!
I am sitting here eating this dish—well, made with vegetarian sausage and red pepper instead of tomatoes–as I write this! The flavours are so awesome! I’ll be making this again! Thanks so much!