This is one of our family’s favorite meal creations. To be honest, I have no idea how it came about anymore. There was some recipe we were trying to recreate and we ended up with something so much better!  Don’t you love when that happens? 🙂

This is by far my husband’s all-time favorite dinners! It’s been in our cooking binder for years. It’s a great pasta dish that tastes as good the next day (hello leftovers!) as the day of. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

xxCourtney

Orecchiette with Spicy Sausage and Vegetables in Tomato Cream Sauce
Inspiration from Simply Recipe

2 Tbsp olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup whipping cream
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 TBSP dried sage
1 head broccoli, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, chopped into bite-size pieces
1/2-3/4 pound orecchiette
Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and toss in the carrots. Cook for approximately 2 minutes and then add broccoli. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Strain vegetables and plunge into ice bath.

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic; sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add sausages and sauté until no longer pink while breaking up the sausages. Add cream; simmer 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices and sage. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add broccoli and carrots to the sauce and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to directions or until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

Return pasta to pot; add sauce. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.