Here we go, continuing our quest to cook our way through Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Express with Winter recipe #89. The colors are really beautiful, and the combination of the beans, the meat and the toothsome pasta give it some heft as well. Not to mention the addition of the greens, which pretty much means nearly all the food groups are included. Multiple sources of protein and the potential to include whole grains? Healthy, tasty, and fast? (Don’t lecture me on whether the Italian sausage is healthy… substitute your sausage of choice, chicken or even fake sausage, as long as it’s flavorful).
Put some water on to boil with a pinch or two of salt. Cook the pasta. We’re trying to eat more interesting grains and less wheat, so we went with a farro penne, but you can use any pasta you want. I like the short shaped pasta for this dish because it’s easier to grab a forkful off all the stuff together but if you like long noodles, why not? Anyway, cook till done (my farro pasta about 10 minutes), drain and reserve some of the cooking liquid.
While the pasta is cooking, fry up some Italian sausage meat, breaking into small pieces and browning / cooking through. You can either get the meat loose or in sausages and just remove the casings. Bittman recommends “a couple of sweet Italian sausages” — I used approximately a pound of sausage meat. Drain a large can of diced tomatoes as well as a can of chickpeas, and add both to the pan. Add in a tablespoon of crushed fennel seeds and a pinch of red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. The fennel and red pepper help bring the “sauce” to life and give what it really a very simple combination some depth and complexity.
Toss the pasta with a couple of handfuls of greens and let the greens wilt. The recipe says arugula but really any tender green will do, and I used a mix of baby spinach, arugula and radicchio (one of those organic salad mixes). Add the pasta into the sausage mixture, and if you want it a little moister, this is where to use the reserved pasta water. I didn’t use any.
Eat up. It’s hearty. And next time, I would grate some fresh parmigiano on top. What’s not to love about cheese? Plus, adding the dairy food group to make this truly a well-rounded meal.
Hi, I’ve just started following Bittman’s advice in his Food Matters book and then I discovered some Italian sausages in my fridge. I googled Bitten and Italian sausages and ended up here. Cooked this tonight for dinner and it was great. Thanks! Clarke Ching, Scotland.
So glad you found it and liked the dish! Easy and yummy huh? Awesome. Looking forward to hearing from you how it goes following the Food Matters advice!