Sausage and Porcini Parmigiano

As I am doing the food prep for this dish there are wonderful smells all around. My husband walked through the door and immediately wanted to know what I was concocting. As I explained the recipe he admitted that waiting for dinner would be difficult.
This is an Italian themed dish with fresh herbs straight from our garden and thankfully not all that expensive to put together.

 

• 1 lb. Italian ground sausage
• 1 8 oz. container Cremini mushrooms - cut in half or quartered
• 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes - or to taste
• 1/2 tsp. fresh chopped sage
• 1/2 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary
• 1/8 cup fresh chopped basil
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
• 5 -6 cloves of garlic - minced (about 1 1/2 tbsp.)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion - small dice
• 1 cup white wine (I am using what I have which is Chardonnay)
• 2 cups vegetable broth, or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 box pasta - bow tie or cellantani

Since I have access to all the herbs this costing is done without them in the mix. All of the other ingredients used in the recipe cost me $9.38. There should be enough to feed 6 people for a cost of $1.56 each.

1. Cook your pasta according to the directions on the box. Do not go over El dente.
2. In a large saute pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and separate into smalls pieces with a wooden spoon and cook until browned.
3. Remove meat from pan onto a plate covered with paper towel to absorb the grease from the meat.
4. In the saute pan used for the meat, add the red pepper flakes, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, sage and rosemary. Cook until onions are soft.
5. To the onion mixture in the pan, add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and turn up the heat to high and add in the mushrooms.  Stir the mushrooms constantly until the mushrooms soften and turn brown. Remove all of the mixture to a waiting plate.
6. De-glaze the pan with the wine, scrapping the bits from the bottom of the pan. Let this boil over medium high heat until the wine is reduced by half.
7. Next, add the sausage and the mushrooms and onions mixture back to the pan and stir to incorporate.
8. To the pan add the vegetable or chicken stock, basil and half of the parsley.  Stir and then turn down the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes.
9. At this point add the Parmesan cheese and stir.
10. Add the cooked pasta to the pan, and mix well. Let the pasta warm through, about 1-2 minutes. Garnish each bowl with some of the remaining chopped parsley.

P.S. I wish I had some crusty bread to soak up all of that great juice!