Pasta with Hot Italian Sausage, Kale, Garlic, and Red Pepper Flakes

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Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 6
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 944.4
  • Total Fat: 64.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 66.2 mg
  • Sodium: 2,187.4 mg
  • Total Carbs: 61.2 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 9.8 g
  • Protein: 32.3 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Pasta with Hot Italian Sausage, Kale, Garlic, and Red Pepper Flakes calories by ingredient


Introduction

This tasted bland to me the night I made it. However, as leftovers, it was fantastic! I also used all broth instead of pasta water, and made it more soup like. The only problem with that is the meat falls to the bottom. This tasted bland to me the night I made it. However, as leftovers, it was fantastic! I also used all broth instead of pasta water, and made it more soup like. The only problem with that is the meat falls to the bottom.
Number of Servings: 6

Ingredients

    1 lb Italian sausage
    8 oz. kale leaves, thinly sliced (about 12 cups thinly sliced kale)
    6 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
    3 T + 1-2 tsp. olive oil
    1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (use more or less to taste)
    2 cups homemade chicken stock or 1 can chicken broth
    1 pkg. (13.25 oz.) rotini pasta
    salt for pasta cooking water (at least 1 T)
    1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions

Heat the 1 or 2 tsp. olive oil in a small frying pan, squeeze sausage out of casings, and cook until sausage is nicely browned, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks.

While the sausage is cooking, wash kale leaves and shake dry. Cut the kale in bite size pieces. Slice the garlic cloves and then coarsely chop.

In a large heavy frying pan (big enough to hold all the pasta when it's cooked) put the 3 T olive oil, garlic, and hot pepper flakes. Turn heat to medium and cook until you can barely start to smell garlic, then add the thinly sliced kale. Don't let the garlic brown. Cook kale and garlic 2-3 minutes, turning over several times, until the kale is all wilted. Add chicken stock or broth and cooked sausage to the kale and lower heat to a gentle simmer. Let this simmer while you cook the pasta.

Fill a medium-large pot half full with water, add a generous amount of salt, and bring the water to a boil. Add pasta, stir, lower heat, and cook until barely al-dente, following package directions for cooking times. Save 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta.

Gently mix the cooked pasta into the sausage/kale mixture, adding as much pasta cooking water as you think you need for it to be moist enough. Then mix in the Parmesan cheese and serve pasta hot, with extra Parmesan cheese to add at the table.


Serving Size: 6 generous servings

Number of Servings: 6

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user DRJZP5.