Sausage, Tomato, & Arugula Fettuccine

October 18, 2011 2 Comments
I have confessed my love for Cooking Light on more than one occasion.. and have admitted my addiction, not only to CL, but to most all foodie magazines. (I swear my name is a lit sign in the magazine publishing market- ‘Send any and all to her- she will buy!’) I often will re-create a take on something I have read that sounds delicious and make it into something just a delicious to share with you.  Lately, with an increasingly busy schedule, I have been trying to come up with quick and simple meals for me and my fireman- meals that don’t entail the same rut of old brown rice, baked chicken, and steamed veggies.  Enter Superfast Meals by Cooking Light.  Wow- what a concept, huh?  As I perused their list of dishes, this one caught my eye.  I had seen it back in the December 2010 issue of CL, and I remember because of how beautiful the picture was.  I doggie-eared the page, but never followed through with my prep, mostly likely because another magazine arrived in the mail and I got busy doggie-earring those pages, too.  See a pattern?  Me neither. :)

The original recipe can be found here, on Cooking Light dot com. This Superfast Meal was so delicious. You will see my changes were minimal. I used chicken sausage over the turkey due to availability at Central Market, and added some spice and more color with my specialty veggie blend pasta.  Fresh and full of flavor.  I may or may not be one for skeptics if my pasta doesn’t have a true ‘sauce’..but this didn’t miss a beat of flavor.  The slightly carmelized sweet tomatoes, peppery arugula, and the kick of Italian sausage- Mm-mmm.  Each tastebud was fully satisfied.  I was skimming through the reader comments (one of the best ways to get a feel for how a recipe will turn out- and a perfect place to do so; learning from home cooks like yourself!) and all had something good to say about this dish with the addition of a few of their own tweaks and changes.  One comment mentioned that she ate leftovers with 2 poached eggs over top.

The Queen of leftovers was particularly pumped by the idea of this.

Hello last-night’s dinner.. Meet breakfast :)

Sausage, Tomato, & Arugula Fettuccine

INGREDIENTS
1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated spinach & carrot blend fettuccine

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 ounces spicy Italian chicken sausage
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
3 cups baby arugula leaves, rough chopped 
2 ounces pecorino Romano cheese, shaved

DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 2/3 cup cooking liquid.

While pasta cooks, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Break sausage into bite-sized pieces and add to pan; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently to crumble. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and peppers; cover and cook 2 minutes. Mash tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon to break them up. Cover pan; reduce heat to low, and cook 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Add pasta, reserved 2/3 cup cooking liquid, and arugula; toss well. Sprinkle with pecorino Romano.

Nutrition Information
Serves 4 (1 1/3 cups pasta mixture & 2 tablespoons cheese)
Calories: 356
Fat: 13 g
Carbohydrate: 39.3 g
Fiber: 3.9 g
Protein: 19.8 g

Filed Under: Chicken, Good Eats, Main Dish, Pasta

Comments

  1. Mix and Match Mama says:
    October 18, 2011 at 8:51 pm

    Ok, seriously yummy. Like, I'm going to have to go back to Market Street now to get the ingredients.

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    October 18, 2011 at 8:57 pm

    I love cooking Light too and also have like a zillion magazines piled up with all the pages dog eared. I think it drives my husband crazy. This looks great!
    Bree
    http://www.skinnymommy.com

    Reply

Leave a Comment

*