Ingredients:
1 lb penne pasta, barilla brand
1 1/3 lbs pork sausage
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces pine nuts, toasted ( directions below)
1 (29 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 red bell peppers, roasted and chopped
6 plum tomatoes, diced
1/4 dry red wine
1/8 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped ( about 9 pieces)
1 cup light cream
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped ( ONLY USE FRESH!!!)
Directions:
In a large deep fry/saute pan, add 1/4 cup water and sausage.
Cook till just cooked through.
Water will start to evaporate.
When cooked through, remove from pan one at a time and cut into bite sized pieces.
Return sausage to pan to brown them.
When sausage AND pan are brown, move sausage to paper towels and set aside.
Add 1/4 cup more water to pan and stir up all the brown.
Simmer sauce on low from now on.
While doing that, in a small saute pan, heat oil and saute garlic for about 3 minutes, add to browned water.
Add also sausage, wine, tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper.
While this is simmering roast the peppers: Pre heat oven to BROIL.
Cut each pepper in half longways, scoop out middle, place on olive oil coated cookie sheet face down and brush skins with olive oil.
Broil for 10 minutes or until skin is black.
Remove, cool, peel skin, chop them up.
Add peppers to sauce.
Start boiling water for Penne.
Chop up sun dried tomatoes and add to sauce.
Now start chopping basil.
I find it easiest to use kitchen shears.
Set basil aside.
Toast pine nuts: In a small DRY fry pan, add pine nuts, toast on medium heat till browned.
Remove from pan, put in small bowl for serving.
Add Penne to water, hopefully it is boiling now.
5 minutes after adding Penne to water, add basil and cream to sauce, stirring constantly.
Heat only for 5 more minutes.
Penne and sauce will be done at the same time.
Spoon sauce& sausage over Penne and sprinkle pine nuts on top.
Serve with garlic bread and salad.
Servings: 6-8
Time preparation: 60 min.
Time total: 120 min.