Sausage Pennette Rigate Florentine

Today was supposed to be a warm, sunny day so I was eager to open up the windows and let the fresh air into my house.  I tend to get chilled easily so, though the thermometer made it above 70 degrees outside today, I was cold.  It put me in the mood for a little comfort food.  I considered what I had on hand and decided to throw together a pasta dish.  What I came up with was Sausage Pennette Rigate Florentine.

Sausage Pennette Rigate Florentine sounds all kinds of fancy, doesn’t it?  If you make it for family and friends and they will think that you went to incredible lengths to make dinner.  In truth, this is another one of those dishes that is quite easy to make and it does not demand a lot of time in the kitchen.  You can easily add more vegetables according to what you have on hand or substitute your favorite pasta or pasta alternative.

You will notice that the one item not on my list of ingredients is salt.  I am a big proponent of using organic ingredients and heirloom varieties of vegetables.  Whenever possible, I try to buy local produce.  When you use these types of ingredients, you will find that your food naturally has more flavor and you will not have to add salt to “bring out the flavor.”

Sausage Pennette Rigate Florentine is like a carnival of flavors.  You get the sweetness of the tomato, the creamy distinct tang of bleu cheese, and the savory notes of the sausage and onion with the distinct hint of spinach.  The flavor will wrap you in comfort without leaving you with that heavy feeling you get after consuming a cream based sauce.

Sausage Penette Rigate Florentine

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 pound bulk sausage (I used maple sausage but any will do)
• 1 medium onion
• 3 medium tomatoes, seeds removed, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 12 – 16-oz fresh baby spinach, chopped
• 5-oz crumbled bleu cheese
• 16-oz dry pennette rigate pasta

Directions

1. Brown sausage in a large frying pan
2. Add onion, drizzle with olive oil and cook until golden brown.
3. Add tomato and garlic, mix well and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add chicken stock, mix well and cover, stirring occasionally.
5. In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions.
6. When pasta is almost done cooking, add spinach to meat mixture, stir to combine, cover and allow to cook for about 5 minutes or until spinach has cooked down and is limp.
7. Add crumbled bleu cheese to meat mixture, stir to combine, turn off heat and allow to sit on burner while cheese melts.
8. While the cheese is melting, drain pasta.
9. Add pasta to meat mixture and carefully stir to combine.
10. Serve hot.

What is your comfort food on a cool day?  Comment below and let me know!