Tim Cooks: Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard

Inspiration:
Whenever I have something in my freezer or pantry that I would like to use, but I don't have a recipe in mind, I head to the Food & Wine website. They have a search function where you can find recipes that utilize any ingredient. I always check the boxes for "staff favorite" and "fast" first. I have never made a bad "staff favorite" recipe-- they are always awesome!

Adapted from this recipe by Nigel Slater.

I had a work presentation the next morning, so Tim took over the cooking duties. He says it was really simple to make.


Ingredients:

• 12 ounces short tubular pasta
  
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1.5 pounds bulk Italian sausage
  
• 3/4 cup dry white wine (use stock if you do not consume alcohol)
  
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons grainy mustard
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• 1 cup thinly sliced basil
• Parmesan for garnish, if desired
  

Instructions:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the sausage meat and brown over moderately high heat, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, mustard and crushed red pepper and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the pasta and basil and toss to coat. Serve at once.

Notes:
This tastes vastly better than it looks. We had spicy bulk sausage, and this dish was SPICY. In a good way. I loved the combination of the spicy sausage, the strong mustard flavor, and the different textures. Do not use dried basil. I would not substitute turkey or chicken sausage in this dish; I think the rich pork flavor makes it special. I do not usually like leftovers, but I happily ate these leftovers 3 times. Loved it.


Liz's Rating: 10/10
Tim's Rating: 9/10