Short pastas are great at retaining sauces with "bits" in them. In this case, chunks of turkey sausage, chopped kale and shreds of salty Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
-
454 g
penne
, or other short pasta
-
2 tbsp
olive oil
-
1 cup
chopped
onion
-
1 tbsp
chopped
garlic
-
1/4 tsp
hot-pepper flakes
-
500 g
mild pork or turkey sausage
, casings removed, and crumbled
-
2 cups
sodium-free
chicken broth
-
1 bunch
kale
, (about 12 cups), tough stem and centre rib discarded, chopped
-
1/4 tsp
black pepper
-
1/2 cup
grated
Parmesan
-
3 tbsp
chopped
basil
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of salted water over high. Add pasta to pot and cook until al dente, according to package directions.
- Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup pasta water.
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high. Add onion and sauté for 2 min or until softened. Add garlic and chili flakes and sauté 1 min longer.
- Add sausage and sauté, using a wooden spoon to break it up, for 4 min or until no pink remains. Scrape mixture into a bowl and set aside.
- Return frying pan toburner, add chicken stock and turn heat to high. When the stock has come to a boil, add kale, stirring until wilted. Boil for about 5 min or until kale is tender and stock is reduced to about ½ cup.
- Combine drained pasta with kale and reduced stock, add sausage mixture and toss. Add pepper and Parmesan cheese, and use about ¼ cup of reserved pasta water to loosen as needed.
- Sprinkle with basil just before serving.
Packing tip
To send for lunch, reheat until piping hot. Then, pack into a pre-warmed insulated container. (You can do this by letting boiling water stand in the container for 1 min.)
Nutrition (per serving)
- Calories
- 721,
- Protein
- 29 g,
- Carbohydrates
- 76 g,
- Fat
- 34 g,
- Fibre
- 6 g,
- Sodium
- 1045 mg.
Originally published in the September 2013 issue. Photo by Jodi Pudge.
