Pasta with Sausage, Peppers and Onions: The Recipe

As I mentioned before, this is adapted from a recipe in Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta.  I had to make a few substitutions based on what I had available in the house.  If you have fresh herbs on hand, feel free to use them instead of dried (you will just need to increase the amount).  The wine and sugar comes into play because I didn't have any Marsala, a sweet fortified wine.  Jeff, who usually turns his nose up at most pasta dishes, raved about this one.

3/4 pound of pasta, such as rigatoni, penne rigate or campanelle

2 Tablespoons oil, olive or vegetable

1 pound sweet Italian turkey (or chicken) sausages 

2 bell peppers (red, yellow or orange), sliced

1 large yellow onion, cut in half and sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 Tablespoons dried basil

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup Shiraz or other red wine

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes with juice

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add the sausages and cook until brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes.  Remove the sausages from the pan.

Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the bell peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook until golden, 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, oregano, and basil and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the tomato paste; then add the wine, sugar, tomatoes with juice and red pepper flakes.  Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  Bring mixture to a simmer.

Cut the sausages into slices about 1/2 inch thick.  Return them to the pan and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce has thickened.  This will take about 15-20 minutes.  (You may need to add salt after the sauce is done and before you combine it with the pasta.  It's okay if it seems a little salty - it's not very much sauce and it has to flavor a lot of pasta.)

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes.  Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the pasta water.  Add the pasta to the thickened sauce and toss to combine, adding pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4.