Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Shell Pasta with Sausage and Asparagus

With asparagus selling for less than $2.00 per pound, they're hard to resist. I’ve been cooking a lot of dishes with it. I steam, grill, stir-fry and make soup out it. I even cook pasta with it too. This is a perfect dish for spring with the great flavor combination of asparagus and Italian sausage. This recipe is simple, both in taste and method and you can also change the sausage to other protein and the asparagus to other vegetables.

Ingredients :

1/2 box of small shell pasta
3 links of fresh Italian sausage (I used turkey sausage)
1 pound of asparagus – cut into 1” length
3 fresh tomatoes - cut into 1/2" cubes
3 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 tsp of chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add in some salt. Cook pasta according to the instruction on the box.
2. While the pasta is cooking, in a large sauté pan over high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Remove sausage from the casing and sauté and cook until golden brown. Remove meat from pan and set aside.
3. In the same pan, sauté the garlic until lightly brown. If there is not enough oil add in an extra 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add in the asparagus and cook for a minute. Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes
4. Add in chopped tomatoes, stir for a few second and return the sausage back to the pan. Mix well and add in the cook pasta. Mix until everything combined. Check sesoning.
5. If the pasta is a bit dry you can add in a bit of the pasta water. Turn off the heat and add in the grated cheese. Stir well and serve warm.

Other pasta dish : Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Pasta

12 comments:

Jun said...

hi Gert...nnti nak buat apple tart...jelly tu...telur masak sambal tu...hahahaha...semua pon i nak buat...btw, how r u doing? a bit bz la these few days...susah betul nak jalan2...

Cat Cat said...

Gert,
Very easy resipi... Will try to cook the pasta for the girls - hope they will like it.

I love pasta with parmesan cheese. YUMMY!

Jean said...

Looks good but haven't tried frying pasta before. May be I shall try one day.

Kana said...

This recipe looks satisfying and healthy.

Zue Murphy said...

I like all the ingredients in this meal. I am too have been buying asparagus these past weeks. They are on sale.

My Asian Kitchen said...

Gert..I been cooking pasta and mee this few days..now I see your pasta again!! hahaha!! what a nice combination with asp!!

Anonymous said...

I love pasta too!!!!!!!!

ICook4Fun said...

Jun, I am ok. How is your hubby doing? Hope he is well after his surgery.

Cat, hope your two girls like this pasta.

Jean, I didn't exactly fried it. I just mix the pasta with all the cook ingredients.

Maya, yeap, Great for quick lunch or dinner.

Zue, I just bought a big bunch of asparagus at the produce place :)

Lesley, I guess pasta and noodles is the easiest to cook especially when you are busy.

Idza, thanks for stopping by.

Christine said...

I made this for dinner tonight and DH says it's one of the tastiest dishes I've made in our 12 years together. Thanks for sharing it!

ICook4Fun said...

Wenchzilla, glad that you and your husband like this dish.

Christelle said...

Asparagus and pasta is my fav pasta combo :)))

Anonymous said...

LLLLooooovvveee It!!! I added onion, chopped carrot and garlic & herb Mrs.Dash. came out great. My family said "Hats off to the chef.