Orecchiette with Sausage and Spinach Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ozorecchiette pasta
- 1 lbitalian sausage
bulk, without casings. hot or mild
- ½ cdiced onion
- 1 tspgarlic
- ¼ tspitalian seasoning
- ¼ tspred pepper flakes
- ½ cchicken broth
- 1 cheavy whipping cream
- 2 cfresh spinach
coarsely chopped
- ¼ cfreshly grated parmesan cheese
- ½lemon zest
from ½ a lemon
- ½ cpasta water
saved from cooking pasta. used to thin sauce, if needed.
Directions
- 1
Bring a pot of water to boil. Once boiling, add pasta and cook according to package directions. When pasta is cooked al dente or to your liking, drain well, but do not rinse.
- 2
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook Italian sausage.
- 3
When the sausage is about halfway cooked, add the onions. Continue cooking until the sausage is cooked through.
- 4
Drain off any excess grease.
- 5
Add garlic and seasonings and stir together.
- 6
Add chicken broth and stir to deglaze the pan scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes until about half of the liquid has evaporated.
- 7
Stir in heavy cream and then stir in spinach. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the cream begins to thicken and the spinach wilts.
- 8
Stir in cooked and drained pasta.
- 9
Stir in freshly grated Parmesan and lemon zest.
- 10
Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley if desired.
- 11
If sauce is too thick, add a bit of saved pasta water and stir until desired consistency. Add just a few tablespoons at a time. You can also use chicken broth.
Orecchiette with Sausage and Spinach Recipe
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About this Recipe
Craving a hearty, flavorful weeknight meal that comes together in a flash? This Orecchiette with Sausage and Spinach recipe delivers an incredibly satisfying, restaurant-quality skillet pasta dish right to your table, all with minimal effort.
What makes this recipe truly special is its perfect harmony of rich flavors and varied textures, all achieved in under 30 minutes. The tender orecchiette pasta cradles a savory sauce, while the robust Italian sausage and fresh spinach create a balanced, comforting meal that's anything but ordinary. It’s a complete meal in one pan, designed for maximum taste with minimal fuss.
You can expect a delightful balance of savory and creamy with every bite. The mild or hot Italian sausage provides a wonderful depth, complemented by the aromatic diced onion and garlic. A hint of red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning adds warmth and complexity, while the generous splash of heavy whipping cream creates a luscious, velvety sauce. The fresh spinach wilts down to offer a touch of vibrant green and a subtle earthy note, perfectly offset by the bright finish of lemon zest and nutty Parmesan cheese. This dish is designed to be deeply comforting yet surprisingly fresh.
This Orecchiette with Sausage and Spinach is wonderfully adaptable to your palate. You can easily adjust the spice level by selecting hot or mild Italian sausage, and by varying the amount of red pepper flakes. For an even richer sauce, don't hesitate to incorporate more freshly grated Parmesan cheese at the end.
Serve this cozy skillet pasta as a complete meal on its own for a quick family dinner. It's a perfect choice for those busy evenings when you need a delicious and satisfying dish without a lot of fuss.