Fresh Tomato and Sausage Pasta

I had a great day today! My son started his first day of preschool today, and that combined with my daughter being in school, left me gloriously child free for two and a half hours! I grabbed a friend, who is also newly childless and we hit the town... Well okay, we hit a craft store, and the mall, but we also fit in a late breakfast at Whole Foods, as well as peaceful conversation without any whining, hitting or biting. It. Was. Fantastic.

Afterward I picked up a little boy who walked with a bit more swagger in his step. He was, afterall, a preschooler, which makes him much cooler. We enjoyed some time at the park afterward, because even though it's September, it's still hot, and humid. I'm actually okay with it though because I'm not quite sure I'm done eating all of my summer favorites, like this dish.


I rarely repeat recipes on my blog, but this goes down as one of my all time favorite recipes. It's basically all of my very favorite foods in one skillet, basil, pasta, tomatoes, cheese, sausage, delicious! I felt like it would be remiss of me not to re-introduce it, especially when the weather still allows it.

Fresh Tomato and Sausage Pasta
Cooking Light September 2009

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked penne
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup vertically sliced onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/4 pounds tomato, chopped
6 tablespoons grated, fresh pecorino Romano cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add sausage and onion to pan; cook four minutes, stirring to crumble sausage. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in pasta, 2 tablespoons cheese, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and basil.

Serves 4: 2 cups pasta, 1 tablespoon cheese

Per Serving: 389 cal, 10.7g fat, 21.6g prot, 4.5g fiber, 27mg chol