Tomato Basil Sausage Pasta

This recipe is from alexandracooks.com. Every recipe on her blog is spot-on. We love pasta and I’m still trying to perfect (and remember) my marinara sauce recipe. This is a very light sauce made with fresh tomatoes, but it coats the pasta perfectly and is so delicious! I wouldn’t jar this sauce, but would make it fresh each time. The great thing about this recipe is that you can use frozen tomatoes (that’s what I used in the above picture), fresh large tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, or even canned diced tomatoes would work well. We will be adding this to our school week schedule a lot!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced or 2 heaping teaspoons minced garlic
• course sea salt
• 12 ounces pasta, I like a whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 pound ground sausage
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (use less or omit if sensitive to heat)
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes (halved) or large tomatoes (chopped)
• 4-8 ounces fresh mozzarella balls, cut into bit size pieces
• 1/2 parmesan
• 1/2 cup basil or more to taste
• ground pepper
• parmesan, optional

Directions

Boil pasta according to package directions (salt the water also) and drain, reserving some pasta water. Set pasta and pasta water aside.

Heat pine nuts on very low heat in a skillet on stove. Watch closely and flip around occasionally. They are done when they are nicely browned. You’ll have to watch these while you are cooking the rest of the recipe. Take off heat once done.

Place olive oil, onion and garlic in large, deep skillet on the stove. Season with a generous pinch of salt. Turn heat to high and cook and stir until the onion shimmers. Turn heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes, until onions are soft.

Brown the sausage in a separate pan and drain the liquid. I used my pasta pot so I wouldn’t have to clean another skillet.

Uncover lid on onions and add red pepper flakes. Increase heat to medium and add tomatoes plus a pinch of salt. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the tomatoes are broken down a little, add a cup of pasta water. If using frozen or canned tomatoes, do not add water.

Bring to a simmer and add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the drained sausage and browned pine nuts to the sauce and mix well.

Add the drained pasta and parmesan to the sauce and mix well.

Once the pasta is set to your taste, add the basil and mozzarella and stir to combine.

Top with parmesan if desired and serve warm.