This quick weeknight dinner, Italian Sausage Pasta in Spinach Pesto Sauce, is not only delicious, but it is also really pretty. Look at the emerald green color of the spinach pesto sauce.
Trust me, it’s really good even though you are not a vegetable lover. I suppose I should also tell you, there is a cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese involved. Who would not want to eat this?
Let’s cook some food!
Cook pasta until al dente (slightly undercooked, about 1 minute less than the package’s instructions). Drain the pasta. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.
Toast sliced almond in a pan for a few minutes.
Blend the spinach, garlic, salt, pepper, toasted almonds and extra virgin olive oil in a food processor until almost smooth.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Blend again until smooth.
Add 1 tablespoon of regular olive oil into a pan using medium heat. Remove sausage casing and break into pieces, add into the hot pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
Add cooked pasta into the pan, toss pasta and the cooked sausages together.
Add pesto sauce and toss everything together.
Add reserved pasta water and do another quick toss.
Turn off the heat. Sprinkle with the remaining of grated parmesan cheese before serving. I hope you give this Italian Sausage Pasta in Spinach Pesto Sauce a try, the recipe is below. I also have another recipe, Avocado Pesto Pasta, it is meatless and equally good.
- 18 oz. pasta of your choice
- ½ cup pasta water
- 4 links sweet (or spicy) Italian sausage, casing removed.
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- 1 large pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
- 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon regular olive oil
- Cook pasta until al dente (slightly undercooked, about 1 minute less than the package's instructions). Drain the pasta. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water.
- Toast sliced almond in a pan for a few minutes.
- Blend the spinach, garlic, salt, pepper, toasted almonds and extra virgin olive oil in a food processor until almost smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
- Add ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Blend again until smooth.
- Add 1 tablespoon of regular olive oil into a pan, medium heat.
- Remove sausage casing and break into pieces, add into the hot pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Add cooked pasta into the pan, toss pasta and the cooked sausages together.
- Add pesto sauce and toss everything together.
- Add reserved pasta water and do another quick toss.
- Turn off the heat. Sprinkle with the remaining of grated Parmesan cheese before serving.
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