{recipe} Weeknight Pasta with Sausage, Broccoli, and Red Wine

Do you categorize recipes by “weeknight” and “weekend” like I do? There are some dishes I can leisurely fuss over on the weekend that I wouldn’t dream of attempting come Monday night. Between the flurry of juggling everyone’s work, childcare, exercise, and activity schedules, there will be no Bo Ssam gracing the dinner table on a weeknight. You are not getting slow-cooked short ribs on a Wednesday. Butternut squash chili? Wait for the weekend and you might get lucky.

This dish is fully in the weeknight camp. I find myself throwing something like this together pretty often these days. You can make the sauce while the pasta is cooking, and have dinner on the table in about 15 or 20 minutes total.

If you’re feeling energetic, make a salad – but hey, the vegetable quotient is filled by the broccoli, so I think you’re pretty much covered. In fact, I think we can safely say this pasta rounds out the food pyramid in just one dish.

Recipe: Weeknight Pasta with Sausage, Broccoli, and Red Wine
serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz. any kind of pasta
• 2 Italian sausages, casing removed
• florets of 1 head broccoli, chopped to bite size
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2/3 cup red wine
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• salt and chili flakes to taste

METHOD:

• Cook pasta al dente per package instructions. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of cooking water.
• Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook sausage, crumbling it with a wooden spoon, for about 3 minutes to cook through and brown.
• Add broccoli florets and cook another 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 15 seconds, stirring, until garlic is fragrant.
• Add wine. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook about 5 minutes to steam broccoli.
• Remove cover. Add cream and parmesan. Season with salt. Cook on high to reduce and thicken, stirring frequently.
• Add pasta and about 1/2 cup pasta water. Cook on high, stirring, for a few minutes to coat pasta and thicken sauce. Taste and add salt if necessary.
• Remove to bowls and garnish with lemon zest and chili flakes to taste. Serve immediately.