Project Description
Gorgeous with fresh ingredients like fennel-spiced sausage, chives, and peas, this quick weeknight supper is tart, refreshing, and oh so good because its sauce, a springly and pantry-friendly artichoke pesto, catches in the twists of our Torchiette. Leftover pesto will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for up to a week.
Whole Wheat Torchiette with Artichoke Pesto, Peas, and Italian Sausage
Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 10 oz. Community Grains Organic Whole Grain Torchiette (Identity Preserved)
- 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts, drained
- ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley + extra for garnish
- ½ cup basil leaves, gently packed
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil + 2 more tablespoons for cooking ingredients below
- ½ to ¾ lb. Italian chicken sausage (depends how hungry you are!)
- ½ cup frozen green peas, defrosted
- Pepper, to taste
- Optional: sliced chives and shaved ricotta salata or parmigiano reggiano for garnish
Cooking Instructions
- Bring 4 quarts of well-salted water to rolling boil. Add pasta and cook according to timing on the box (about 6 minutes).
- While the pasta is cooking, make the pesto. Add the artichokes, parsley, basil, garlic, lemon juice, and ½ cup olive oil to a food processor and grind for a minute, until it reaches a consistency you like (we like more of a smooth paste). This makes about 1.5 cups of artichoke pesto.
- Pasta should be done by now, drain. While it’s warm, toss with a cup of the pesto in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Place a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Once hot, add a tablespoon of olive oil and crumble in the chicken sausage. Use a wooden spoon to break up larger bits. Fry the sausage for about 7-8 minutes, or until completely cooked through and browned in some areas. Right before you remove from heat, add in the peas to the pan to warm through for 30 seconds, then remove from heat.
- To serve, toss the pasta with the pesto, peas, and sausage. Garnish with herbs, cheese, and a nice twist of fresh pepper.
