Delusions and Summer Veggie and Sausage Pasta
Since my last post cursing the NW for our lack of sun and tomato-growing weather, people keep telling me about their magnificent tomatoes. But, do they give me any? No! Seriously, in my head I am convinced they are lying. This is probably a sign of some mental disorder, right? Paranoid delusions or something? Anyway, until I eat good tomatoes I am going to remain on my anger pony and ride off into the (cloudy) sunset.
Enough ranting about the tomatoes! (It is just that I love them so much and was so excited about canning and eating and canning and then eating again. (Someone please give me an intervention.))
Lately, my CSA is getting more useful to my menus – less cabbage (THANK GOD) and more green beans, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, basil, onions, and corn. I have been freezing things that freeze well and incorporating things without effort into our regular menu.
On Sunday, after a fun girls’ weekend and Erik’s first cyclocross race, I wanted to make something full of veggies, but still substantial. Something that would carry us through a couple days so I didn’t have to think about making lunch. My winter time remedy is all-too-often a homemade meat sauce and spaghetti. I don’t know how after 32 years of eating this I am not sick of it, but I am not. I love it. Fortunately for Erik, I felt I could branch out a bit. This time.
I used the yellow squash, yellow wax beans, basil, and some cherry tomatoes from our CSA. I tossed the veggies with some rigatoni, spicy Italian sausage (you could use chicken sausage, or none at all, if you like fitting into your jeans) and shaved parmesan. This non tomato-based sauce pairs nicely with a whole wheat pasta, plus you can then convince yourself it is healthy. I love delusions.
Just don’t tell me you grew delicious tomatoes without giving me one.
Summer Veggie and Sausage Pasta
Serves 6
1/2 lb whole wheat rigatoni or penne
1 lb spicy Italian sausage
2 T olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced squash
2 cups wax (or green) beans (ends removed and cut into bite-size pieces)
1/2 cup of basil all but a few leaves julienned
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 T of shaved parmesan
Cook the pasta according to the directions. When draining, save one cup of pasta water for the sauce.
After cutting up the squash, sprinkle with salt. Allow to sweat for 3-5 minutes, dab with a towel, flip and repeat.
Preheat a heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat. Add sausage and cook 8-10 minutes until fully cooked and brown. Remove sausage from pan and dump grease. Return the pan to the heat and add 1 T of olive oil to the pan and the squash. Allow to cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Then, add in the wax beans for an additional 3. (The wax beans will still be quite chewy. If you prefer them more done, blanch them in a pan of boiling water for 2 minutes first.)
Remove the pan from the heat and dump in the pasta, 1 T of olive oil, sausage, tomatoes, and all the julienned tomatoes. Toss and taste for seasonings. If the pasta is too dry, add the pasta water. Before serving, toss in the shaved parmesan and sprinkle with remaining basil leaves.
