I’ve got a busy week this week, which means it’s time for an easy recipe with few ingredients that I can make multiple meals out of. Thanks to the Navy I didn’t have the ability to live outside of a dorm (aka Navy prison) in college, so I didn’t ever learn to cook in my college years. When I graduated and got my first apartment, this one of the first meals I learned to make on my own – pasta and sausage! There’s nothing fancy to this dish, just some boxed linguini, Italian sausage, and pre-made tomato sauce. Also, there’s a good amount of butter. You could make it fancier by making your own pasta and sauce, but sometimes you’re busy, tired, and all you want is a simple dinner you can whip up in minutes! This “recipe” is perfect for that, and also great for all you guys (and gals) in your 20s learning to stumble through the kitchen!
Pasta and Sausage
Ingredients
- 200 g dry pasta of choice
- 2 links mild or hot Italian sausage
- 2 cups store-bought tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- First, cook the sausage. The easiest way to do this is boil them for ~10 minutes until they reach an internal temp of 165°F. Once the sausage is done (I'll usually do an entire pack of 5 at once to make it easy) take two of them (or 1 if you're cutting this recipe in half for just yourself!) and quickly sear them in a pan over high heat with a little olive oil. They're already cooked, so you're just looking to get some color on them.
- While frying up the sausages, start boiling the water for the pasta. Make sure to always salt your pasta water! Once boiling, add the pasta and stir occasionally to keep it from sticking. After 5 minutes, on another burner add the tomato sauce and sausage cut into pieces (like lazy meatballs!) to a large skillet and set over medium heat. This allows the sauce to get up to temperature just as the pasta is finishing.
- After ~8-9 minutes of cooking the pasta, the sauce should be starting to bubble. Turn off the heat for the pasta and strain it, reserving ~1/3 cup pasta water. The pasta may seem under done, but the key to a good pasta is finishing it in the sauce! This helps it really adhere to the pasta, instead of just adding the sauce on top of plain pasta on a plate. Add the pasta to the skillet with the sauce, along with the reserved pasta water and the butter. Stir regularly.
- After a few minutes, the butter should be melted and the sauce and pasta well incorporated. Be sure to test the pasta for desired done-ness along the way. Once done, remove from heat and drizzle olive oil on top and mix well. Serve immediately with fresh parsley.
- Enjoy!
