Fresh Pappardelle in Tomato Sauce with Sweet Italian Sausage, Baby Portabellas, Spinach, Tomato, and Shaved Parmesan

I was feeling very…(what’s the word?) Italian (?) the other day and decided that I wanted to make an awesome pasta dish…complete with the finest ingredients  Of course this was just an excuse to visit my favorite market in Baltimore (the Belvedere Market…although it does not compare to the Reading Terminal in Philly it is still GREAT!) to grab some lunch and fresh bread (and to get the ingredients for my dinner, course). Yes, I ate lunch alone. Am I the only one out there who likes to eat alone sometimes? Someone please tell me that you also do this sometimes so I do not feel like a complete loser. Anyway…after I had lunch I scurried on over to the Italian section and bought some fresh Pappardelle and a block of good quality parmesan cheese. I had the rest of the ingredients for my dinner on hand.  I didnt follow an exact recipe really…I sort of just made this dish up on my own and it came out great! I felt like I was in Philly with my family dining at one of my favorite Italian restaurants.  But alas, I was alone in my bedroom, reading up the Philadelphia Flyers news. haha but anyway…this was a great dish…highly reccomend it!

What makes this meal so great is that I used good ingredients…homemade tomato sauce, fresh pasta and high quality cheese.  Trust me…it makes all the difference! The only thing that was missing was some nice crusty bread! I did buy bread that day at the Belvedere Market, but it was Cranberry Pecan…which doesn’t really go with pasta, eh?

Ingredients for Tomato Sauce:

• 1 large can of San Marzano Tomatoes (28 oz)
• 1 can of Tomato Paste (6 oz)
• 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)- can use more if you want! we like to use a lot
• 1 large can of water (28 oz) or half of the can depending on how thick you want your sauce (we usually dont use a whole can…more like 1/2-3/4)
• basil (fresh or dry)
• parsley (fresh or dry)
• salt to taste
• extra virgin olive oil

Directions for Tomato sauce:

Put the chopped garlic and EVOO in a large pot (enough EVOO to just cover the bottom of the pot so the garlic does not burn). Saute the garlic and then add the can of tomatoes, water (use the empty can of tomatoes and fill with water), and tomato paste. Mush up the tomatoes with your hands!! I like my sauce chunky so I dont crush it too too much. Add in basil, parsley, and salt to taste bring to boil, lower heat and let simmer…stirring occasionally.  The longer you cook it on the stove top the better but if your pressed for time…30 minutes will do.

Ingredients for Pasta

• Fresh Pappardelle
• Grape Tomatoes, halved
• Baby portabella mushrooms
• Italian Sausage (I used sweet but any would due)
• garlic, minced
• Red pepper flakes
• homemade tomato sauce (see recipe above)
• baby spinach
• freshly shaved parmesan cheese (the kind you buy in a block and shave yourself…trust me its much better!)
• extra virgin olive oil

Directions for Pasta:

Cook the pasta based on the directions on the package.  Meanwhile, cook the sausage in a pan on the stove top over medium heat and use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage into small chunks.  Once the sausage is almost finished cooking, add a very little bit of olive oil to the pan along with the minced garlic, halved grape tomatoes, spinach, and mushrooms.  Cook until the spinach and tomatoes wilt.  Remove from heat.  Once the pasta is finished cooking, drain the pasta in a colander and return the pasta to the pot.  Add the sausage mixture to the pot and along with some tomato sauce.  Heat through for a minute or so and then plate the pasta. Top with shaved parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Question: What is your favorite type of pasta?  Mine is Pappardelle!

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