Sausage adds flavor and spice to a dish of pasta that pairs well with a simple sauce of olive oil and butter. Your choice of seasonings and vegetables mixed in with the pasta dish enhance the flavors of the ingredients. Serve the sausage pasta with a lettuce salad and toasted garlic bread for a complete meal.
Preparation
The pasta and Italian sausage are typically cooked separately for this dish. Cook the sausage with the casings removed in a skillet with oil to create browned crumbles of sausage. Cook the pasta separately in a pot of boiling water. Heat 1/2 cup of olive oil and 2 tbsp. of butter for the pasta sauce and season it with black pepper, salt, crushed red pepper and minced garlic to taste. Combine all the ingredients just before serving.
Serving
The sausage and pasta dish works well on its own, but a side dish of vegetables helps balance out the nutrition of the meal; side salads pair well with pasta dishes. Try combining fresh greens, chopped onions, green peppers, fresh mushrooms, croutons and your favorite salad dressing. Steamed vegetables are another side dish option to increase the health value of the meal. Round out the meal with breadsticks or garlic bread. You can use a bit of the olive oil and butter sauce to flavor the bread before toasting.
Variations
For a simple variation, add sauteed vegetables to the pasta sauce. Onions, mushrooms and green peppers work particularly well with pasta. Cook the vegetables to a tender-crisp texture before adding them to the sauce. Fresh tomatoes are another option; seed and chop the tomatoes, heat them in a separate pan, then add them into the final pasta mix.
Nutritional Information
The Italian sausage makes this dish high in fat and calories. The nutritional information varies based on the specific type and brand of Italian sausage, but each link may contain up to 270 calories and 22 g of fat. A healthier alternative is to choose lean turkey Italian sausage, which can improve the nutrition statistics to around 160 calories and 10 grams of fat per link. You can also substitute a vegetable-based alternative sausage with around 120 calories and 6 g of fat. Your choice in pasta also affects the overall nutritional value of the dish. Whole-grain pasta provides more fiber and nutrients in the meal.
References
- Real Simple; Pasta with Sausage and Red Bell Pepper; Sara Quessenberry; May 2007
- Emerils.com: Penne with Italian Sausage
- Johnsonville: Mild Italian Sausage Links
- Morningstar Farms: Veggie Italian Style Sausage
- Jennie-O: Sweet Lean Italian Turkey Sausage
- MayoClinic.com; Whole Grains: Hearty Options for a Healthy Diet; July 21, 2009
Member Comments