Penne with Italian Sausage & Peppers
This is very simple and quick and can be served over pasta or polenta.
I used to make this frequently for church dinners. (I snuck the wine in using a jelly jar.) It multiplies well and is very popular. However, if making it for home I used Spicy sausage. For the larger group I always got Sweet Italian Sausage. This recipe serves 4-6, so multiply it until you have enough to feed your crowd.
I also frequently cut this in half if I'm just serving 2. We will still have enough for a lunch leftover.
Yield: 4-6
Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 lb Italian sausage – sweet or spicy to your taste
1 med onion chopped fine
1 tsp garlic powder (or 2-3 cloves fresh garlic)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 lb penne pasta
¼ cup heavy cream
1 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions:
In your largest skillet – brown meat the add onion and garlic. Sauté until onions are beginning to brown. Bring pasta water to a boil and cook pasta. When you put the pasta into the water add the chopped peppers to the meat mixture and cook while pasta is boiling. When pasta is cooked al dente, remove it with a spider and add it to the skillet. Add a ladle of the pasta water, cheese and cream, stirring well to melt the cheese into the liquid. Add more pasta water if needed.
This can be served now but it is better if let it sit in the warm skillet for about 15 minutes. This allows all the flavors time to marry.
Crowd Pleaser:
If you are planning to do this for a crowd, you can brown your sausage mixture, boil the pasta, and mix everything together in a really big bowl. If you need to you can do it more than once if you don’t have pots big enough. The put the whole in a disposable counter pan and hold it in a 300° oven until you are ready to serve. Be sure you allow plenty of liquid so you don’t dry out the pasta.
If you have to hold longer than 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 200°.