Mushroom, Sausage and Kale Pasta
Ingredients
- 175 grams ricotta cheese
- 45 grams 2% milk
- 1 Tablespoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, or 1 1/2 teaspoons Morton's Kosher salt
- 350 grams Lacinato kale (also called Tuscan kale or black kale), about 2 small bunches
- 340 grams dried pasta, penne or rigatoni
- `1 tablespoon olive oil
- 400 grams plant based spicy or sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 454 grams mushrooms, cut into 1/2 inch slices or pieces, a mix of crimini, shitake, button and oyster is nice
- 2 large sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon Morton's Kosher salt
- 4 medium shallots, peeled and finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced
- 250 millilitres dry white wine
- 50 grams Parmesan cheese grated or shaved for garnish
- 10 large basil leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Place ricotta and milk in a medium bowl. Using a wire whisk, whisk until creamy and smooth. Store in fridge until ready to serve finished pasta.
- Wash kale leaves. Strip kale leaves from stem. I find the tip of a paring knife is the best job for separating the leaf from the stem. Discard stems. Pile the leaves up and use a sharp chef's knife to slice across into 1/4 inch strips.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 Tablespoon salt and dried pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water before draining. Drain pasta.
- While pasta is cooking, heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Add sausage and use a potato masher or wooden spoon to break sausage into small crumbles. Continue cooking and stirring until sausage is browned and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer cooked sausage to large bowl or plate.
- Put pan back on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until just slightly softened, about 2 minutes. As the mushrooms release their water, use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add thyme sprigs and 1 teaspoon salt and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until liquid is evaporated and mushrooms are browned. This will take about 6-7 minutes. Remove thyme stems. Transfer mushrooms to bowl with sausage.
- Add shallots and 1/4 cup water and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add white wine and cook over high heat for 2-3 minutes until liquid is reduced by about half. Add kale and stir for another 2 minutes until kale starts to wilt.
- Add drained pasta and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to pan. Mix well over medium heat until most of liquid has evaporated. Add reserved sausage and mushrooms and mix well.
- Transfer pasta to serving platter. Garnish with shaved parmesan, little scoops of whipped ricotta and fresh basil leaves.
Nutrition
Calories: 814kcalCarbohydrates: 87gProtein: 48gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 3298mgPotassium: 1180mgFiber: 13gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 9123IUVitamin C: 88mgCalcium: 519mgIron: 26mg
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