Have you ever dreamed something up in your head, and somehow executed it *exactly* how you thought it up? I’ll admit, it does not happen often, but this pasta was one of those times. I wanted to make a fresh, light pasta, with the peas and tomatoes still in tact, not just little balls of mush. I also know from experience that if you add peas to a dish too early, they lose their beautiful green color. I wanted to avoid this at all costs!
An important part of cooking is to build flavors. I always say this, but every layer needs to be salted, seasoned, and tasted. This pasta starts out by browning the sausage. I take a play out of Anne Burrell’s playbook with: BROWN FOOD IS GOOD! All the little bits of meat create flavor. Once the meat is browned, you take it out to make the rest of the sauce.
Layering Your Flavors
Sliced garlic and mushrooms are the next to go into the pot. Using the same oil from the sausage, add in your garlic. Cook until it starts to get slightly toasty and translucent, and add in the mushrooms. You may want to add another tablespoon of oil to keep the saute going. Allow your mushrooms to cook first without adding salt. Since salt draws out moisture, it will release all the water and ultimately steam the mushrooms. You don’t want that! You want a nice, brown, caramelized mushroom.
Once the mushrooms are cooked, now’s the time to add in your fresh herbs, rosemary and thyme. It’s important to cook each ingredient for a few minutes so each layer develops flavor.
Wine Time.
My favorite part of the dish! To get all of those yummy brown bits that are stuck to the pot from the sausage and garlic, white wine will do this job perfectly. Deglazing is such an important part in any dish. If you want to omit the alcohol, feel free to use water, or chicken or vegetable stock. It will accomplish the same thing!
I’m a huge fan of wine though (red, white, rose… I don’t discriminate!), so I deglazed with Pinot Grigio. Another important note: you want to use a wine that you LIKE! A “kitchen” wine or a wine that you have in the back of your cabinet for eight years because you don’t like that type, won’t work here. If you don’t like to drink it, I don’t think you’d like to eat it. When you cook this mixture for a few minutes, the alcohol (not the flavor!) will cook out. The mushrooms are like little sponges and will absorb everything and anything you throw at them. Feel free to now taste the mushroom and see just what kind of flavor-bombs you’re dealing with! This technique is also great for just sauteed mushrooms. Now you can add back in your sausage and cook for a few minutes.
Keeping Your Vegetables Crisp
A key thing I wanted to do in this recipe, was to keep some of the vegetables fresh and in tact – that is the tomatoes not turning to mush or the green peas turning a dull color. Sometimes you’ll notice if you cook tomatoes for a long period of time (like sauce), they break down and lose their shape. I wanted these tomatoes to stay together, so I added them towards the end. It’s really the heat of the mushrooms and sausage that soften them slightly. Another trick is to wait to cook your peas. Peas, whether they’re fresh or frozen, only take a few minutes to cook through. By adding them into your pasta water the last few minutes of cooking, you’re killing two birds with one stone – and I won’t argue with anything that makes my clean-up a little easier!
The Finale.
A little butter, reserved pasta water, and Pecorino will create a luxurious sauce. Pasta water is like liquid gold. It has starchiness from the pasta cooking in it, that will help thicken any sauce. 1/2 cup is usually more than enough, but I usually reserve a full cup, just incase. Once the pasta is drained, the water is gone forever…..better to be safe than sorry!
What I love about this dish is the pasta shape. I never really cook with shells unless it’s for macaroni and cheese. But the peas and little bits of sausage get caught in the shells, so you get something in every bite. You can also use any vegetables you want. You can omit or add any part – and it will still taste just as delicious. Just remember to take your time to develop each layer and you won’t be disappointed!
Pasta with Sausage, Mushrooms and Peas
Ingredients
- 3 sausage links removed from casings
- ¾ cup of mushrooms, chopped I used baby Bellas
- ½ cup of peas fresh or frozen
- 2 large garlic cloves thinly sliced
- ½ cup of cherry tomatoes rinsed and cut in half
- ¼ cup of dry white wine I used Pinot Grigio
- ½ lb of pasta shells
- Few sprigs each of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme chopped
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ cup of reserved pasta water
- ¼ cup of Pecorino or Parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brown the sausage over medium heat, using one tablespoon of olive oil. If the sausage takes on too much water half way, drain the water out and add another tablespoon of olive oil. Once the sausage is fully browned and you have a lot of good brown bits on the bottom, remove it from the pan. Lower the heat a little and add in your garlic, lightly browning it. Once the garlic is slightly translucent, add your mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add in your fresh herbs and wine, scraping down the bottom of the pan to get all of the bits up. Cook the wine out a few minutes and then add the sausage back in. Add your tomatoes in and cook until they just start to get soft, stirring occasionally. Once the tomatoes are soft, turn the sausage mushroom mixture off of the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Next step is to boil your pasta. Set a bottom pot with water over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add in your salt and the pasta. Cook about 8-10 minutes. When you have about 2 minutes left, pour your peas into the water and allow them to cook with the pasta for the last few minutes. Turn the heat back onto medium on your sausage and mushroom mixture.
- When the pasta is ready, reserve 1/2 cup of the water, and drain the rest. Add your pasta and peas to the mushrooms, with the pasta water, one tablespoon of butter, and 1/4 pecorino, stirring together until the flavors combine and you create a light sauce. Add more Pecorino for garnish and hot pepper (if you like a little spice!) and enjoy!
