I love the smell of good Italian food cooking. Makes you want to take a big ol’ bite of the air! Putting on a big pot of marinara and smelling it cooking ALL day – well, it don’t get much better than that.
But if you don’t have all day to chop and simmer, you can start out with a good jarred sauce and end up with some pretty good aromas, not to mention a yummy supper. Here are a couple things to look for in a sauce:
- Turn the jar up to make sure the sauce is thick. You can’t always depend on a label to make that judgement for you.
- If the product has ingredients added, make sure the one you buy matches the end result you want. Fewer ingredients mean you have more leeway to customize the flavor.
I get good results from Bertolli Sauce. Of course, I end up adding this and that and sometimes simmering it a little so the flavors grab on to each other but for this recipe, I kept it simple.
Now, sausage – buy something good quality and that doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. Many stores have their own brand of sausage that is economical and of good quality. I personally like Publix’s brand of Italian sausage – good flavor and just enough fat to add the flavor to the dish.
You can come home at 5:00 and have this on the table by 5:30. Add a salad and a crusty loaf of bread and you’ve got supper…quick!
[recipe title=”Penne Rigate” servings=”6″ time=”30 minutes” difficulty=”easy”]
Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- 1 lb quality Italian sausage
- 1 lb Penne Pasta
- 1 medium sweet onion coarsely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper coarsely chopped
- 1 (8oz) container white mushrooms sliced in two
- 7 cloves of garlic chopped medium to fine
- 2 medium zucchini sliced ½ inch thick (may also use yellow squash)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- Cheese for grating on top
Directions
Strip the casing off the sausage, tear into small pieces and place in a large deep sided skillet on medium heat. As the sausage begins to fry you should start to see some grease in the skillet, if not add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and allow to cook until onion begins to brown just a little. Reduce heat slightly, add bell peppers and mushrooms (if it looks too dry to cook without burning or sticking, add 1 tablespoon olive oil).
Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Slightly reduce heat, add garlic and stir. Allow to cook about 5 minutes, stir in marinara, cover and lower to a simmer. This is about the time to cook pasta following label directions.
Add zucchini, stir and allow to simmer 8-10 minutes – NO LONGER. Drain pasta and place in a large serving bowl making a well in the center, add sauce and grate cheese on top before serving.
[/recipe]
