Simple yet satisfying--Orechiette with Sausage and Sweet Red Peppers

Orechiette with Sausage and Sweet Red Peppers
The Simpler The Better Sensational Italian Meals Copyright 2005

1 ¼ pounds sweet Italian sausage meat
1 ½ large red bell peppers
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 large garlic cloves
1 pound dried orechiette or other short pasta

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Break sausage into small pieces. Finely chop bell peppers.
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over low heat. Add garlic and cook, turning frequently until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Discard garlic. Increase heat to high. Add peppers and sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all is lightly crisped and browned, about 10 minutes.
3. Cook pasta until al dente, about 12 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup cooking water, then drain. Return pasta to pot and stir in sausage and peppers. Add reserved water to sausage cooking pan and stir up brown residue over low heat. Add drippings to pasta and heat together over low heat 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Season with salt to taste. Serve hot and generously grind pepper over each plateful.
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When I 'scheduled' this recipe, I forgot that orechiette is one of those pasta shapes that I can't find locally. I'll need to get more next time I visit my parents since their local store carries it. Instead, I used something labeled 'cappelletti' which are little hat-shaped pastas but not the meat filled cappelletti that were a huge treat in soup when I was growing up.

This was a simple dish but it was flavorful and didn't seem too heavy even though it was pasta and sausage. Somehow leaving out the tomato sauce makes it seem almost light.

I feel like I'm in a rut. We eat several different proteins - beef, chicken, turkey, pork, fish - but it still feels like we eat the same thing over and over. I'm eating fine and enjoy food but I don't find myself craving anything lately except more of those Black and White Cupcakes. Usually, I end up throwing out most of anything sweet I make (with just two adults and a 4-year old here to indulge) but those cupcakes flew out of here. They only made 12 so I guess that helped. There is one left and I think we'll be fighting over it.

Blast From The Past: Spicy-Sweet Pork Tenderloin from June 2007. I'm trying to think of something to make with pork tenderloin next week. I can't find any new recipes so maybe I'll make that one again.

Question of the Day: What did you have for dinner the past five days, basically speaking (chicken, fish, pork, cheese, eggs, beans, etc)?