So a long, long time ago Travis had this thicker than thick fettuccine pasta dish once at Pasta Pomodoro and he has been searching for it high and low at other restaurants ever since. I told him that the type of pasta he was looking for was Pappardelle, yet he seemed to ignore my wisdom. Every time we would go out to eat, he would say to the staff, “I want a very thick pasta, what do you have?” And, they would give him what he thought he wanted, but it never fulfilled his pasta needs.
First off, he would say “thick” when he meant wide and then I would tell him to ask for the pappardelle shape and he would look at me as if I was crazy and tell the staff in not so many word to ignore me.
Well, to prove to him that I was right and he was wrong, I’ve been keeping my eye out for this form of pasta and lo and behold when I was shopping at Trader Joe’s on Friday what did my little eye spy? That’s right, the Travis must have pasta.
I brought it home very proud of myself and showed off my loot to what I thought would be a very grateful audience. Instead, this man still doubted saying, “it kinda looks like the pasta, but I’m not sure if it’s the right one.”
Confucius says, “man who doubt wife will no doubt live to regret said doubt.”
Long story short…I proved that I am smarter than he is, because after I made my dish this evening, he was kissing my ass saying, “you found my pasta, you are the best!”
Pappardelle Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes and Kalamata Olives
Well, duh!
So without further adieu, I present my Pappardelle recipe, made especially for the Sha Na Non-Believer, my husband. Next time he will believe that I know the way to Candy Mountain…or at least to his version of pasta heaven…and I won’t even take his freakin’ kidney!
Parppardelle Pasta with Chicken Sausage
1 Package of Parppardelle Pasta
3 Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage Links (spicy would be great here, but I feed small children who haven’t developed that kind of love yet)
1/2 Jar of Sun Dried Tomatoes, Diced
1 Can of Artichoke Heart Quarters
10-15 Pitted Kalamata Olives, Cut in Half
1 Large Shallot, Small Dice
2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 Tbsp Flour
1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of White Wine (remember if you don’t like to drink it, you don’t cook with it)
1/2 cup of Half and Half
1 to 1 and 1/2 cups Reduced Fat or Skim Milk (you can use all half and half, I am just trying to cut calorie and fat corners here)
2 or 3 sprigs of Fresh Thyme, leaves only not stems
8-10 Fresh Basil Leaves, chiffonade
Salt and Pepper to taste
Grated Hard Cheese of Your Choice, Parmesan, Pecorino, Romano, etc.
Instructions:
Boil water in a large stock pot and cook the pasta following the pasta package directions.
In a saute pan on Medium High heat, put the three sausage links, without casings, into the skillet and brown. Add shallots, cook for 2-3 minutes and then add garlic. Once sausage is cooked through and the shallots are translucent and the tablespoon of flour. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Once flour is incorporated, add the white wine. Once it is bubbling, turn down the heat to Medium Low. Add, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and kalamata olives. Add the half and half and the milk. Stir until well combined. Taste and now add the thyme and the salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the burner and add the fresh basil.
Once pasta is done, drain pasta water and add hot pasta into the sauce…lightly coat pasta and serve immediately. Add fresh hard cheese of choice and a little more basil if you want on top.
Makes 4 servings.
Happy Eating!
PS – Just in case you think I’m crazy about the candy mountain and kidney comment, well it comes from this video, Enjoy!
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Thanks for that, it was a great read. I can’t believe it , but my wife and I will have been married 10 years next month. We met in Italy, and we had some incredible shrimp pasta in this little cafe in Rome. I’ve been looking all over the web for a good recipe to see if I can’t make something myself to surprise her, and I even found a whole shrimp pasta recipes website dedicated to them! Thought you might like to know, you can find anything on the net nowadays it seems!