Farfalle with Italian Sausage, Bells Peppers, Mushrooms, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Parmesan and Tomato-Basil Sauce

This is another one of those "scrounge the frig and pantry and see what I come up with" dishes (precisely what I did). The ingredients are certainly Italianesque in flavor profile, but the recipe can be adapted to your taste, depending on what you have on hand. In this case, I had an errant red bell pepper in the frig, fresh shiitake mushrooms that my mom gave me, a package of spicy Italian sausage, and some oven-roasted tomatoes from the deli section at Baron's Market. The end result was a keeper.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. bowtie (farfalle) pasta

1 lb. Italian sausage (hot or mild)

10 medium ripe tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup chopped red or yellow onion

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced

8 oz. fresh shiitake or portobello mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

2 tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. sugar

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 cup oven-roasted or oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded (more for garnish)

1. Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large saute pan; add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the sausage and break up using a spatula or potato masher; stir until the meat is partly cooked through.

3. Add the bell peppers, mushrooms, tomato paste, salt and sugar; saute for 1-2 minutes.

4. Add the fresh tomatoes and oven-roasted tomatoes; bring up to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.

5. In the meantime, bring a large pot of water with a generous (2 tsp.) salt to a boil; add the pasta and cook about 12 minutes or until al dente.

6. When the pasta is done, add to the sauce and stir over medium heat until heated through. Stir in the fresh basil and 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese. 

7. Serve the pasta with extra Parmesan cheese on the side.