Creamy Fusilli Pasta with Sausage and Sun Dried Tomatoes

October 1, 2019 Laura

I owe you an apology. This recipe has been hanging around my kitchen for two years and I haven’t shared it until now. I kind of shared it. I had it on our insta account in the summer of 2018, but then I never added it here to the site. I’m afraid to tell you how delicious it is (it has a light cream sauce so you know it’s gotta be good!) and I’m also nervous to mention it’s the perfect Wednesday night meal. We have two days a week in our household where the window for dinner and getting downtown to ballet is miserably tight. On these nights I need to be organized and I need recipes that are quick. I can find quick recipes but the organization thing can be a struggle for me, especially if my own day goes sideways.

Take for instance today. Before noon I had organized my father-in -laws move, made and deliver the lunch I forgot to make last night, turned down an editor friend offering a last minute trip to LA and interview Jennifer Aniston, forgotten about an appointment and, the piece de la resistance, got into a fender bender that only ruined my fender. The way my day was tracking, dinner would either never be on the table or would arrive in a pizza box.

I’m not saying I like cooking on days like today. However, I really like having meals like this to cook when I hate everything else about my day. It requires little to no prep, leans on pantry staples (you too can alway have Italian sausage in the freezer if you love this dish!) and feeds the hungriest of faces. I generally don’t use cream in my pasta dishes but it’s not overly soaked in the sauce like an Alfredo, it’s much lighter thanks to the addition of the pasta water. If your family can handle the eat, try it with medium or hot sausage and definitely experiment with other kinds of sausages too. We made this with turkey sausage a few times and loved the outcome as well. Since it’s such a flavourful meal, I hope you can forgive me for holding out on you. I promise not to do it again.

Photo by Jasmine de Boer

Creamy Fusilli Pasta with Sausage and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, diced
3 mild Italian sausage
500 g fusilli pasta
1/2 cup diced sun dried tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup shaved parmesan
8 - 10 basil leaves cut into ribbons

Method

Heat oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, just until shallots soften, about 3 - 4 minutes.

Remove sausage meat from casing and add to Dutch oven. Break into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage is brown, about 6 - 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water and heat over high. Toss in a handful of salt and bring to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. In the last minute of cooking time, add your sun-dried tomatoes.

Using a heatproof measuring cup, scoop up about 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Add the cream to the measuring cup with the pasta liquid.

Add warmed cream to Dutch oven and stir constantly until cream cooks down a bit and a sauce forms. Remove from heat.

Drain fusilli and sun dried tomatoes and pour into skillet and mix to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle in cheese and stir.

Serve with fresh basil.

Sweet Potato Chronicles