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THERE’S NO TIME: Spicy Chicken Sausage Pasta

  • Writer: Hunnie
    Hunnie
  • Oct 16, 2024
  • 5 min read

Updated: Mar 16


So this recipe comes in clutch when you’re short on time. Or just really don’t feel like cooking. There’s not too many ingredients that go into this one. I’ve come to realize that many times, when you have a quick, simple recipe, that means the quality of the ingredients is what is so important. Cue your Ina Garten voice, we will need “the good olive oil” for this one. We’ll also need to use quality Parmesan cheese (freshly grated if you can, I promise that grating one cup is way quicker than you think). And lastly, a box of quality pasta. I used a box of DeCecco. Huddle around people for the game plan: First, we’ll talk about the benefits of zucchinis and tomatoes. Then you’ll get the recipe. I’ll sprinkle in a few glamor shots of this dish throughout the post. BREAK.




Zucchini: An Undercover Fruit

Technically, zucchini is a fruit, but here in the cooking/eating world, I feel like we definitely group it in the vegetable category. We also refer to them as courgettes, and they’re a type of summer squash. Zucchini is the friend that’s there for you even when you don’t realize it—low-cal (just 21 calories per cup!) and packed with vitamins like C and B6. Actually, a lot of the Vitamin C and B6 is found on a zucchini’s skin, so don’t peel it off! Just a quick wash, and you won’t get a meal that tastes sandy/dirty. Also, it brings antioxidants to the table, which means you are actually casually preventing cancer while you eat this pasta. Zucchini has two types of antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin, which also improve eye health. They decrease your risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.


Tomatoes: Tiny Red Health Bombs

Tomatoes are also considered a fruit. So we have two fruits in this pasta meal, wild. I am quite a visual person, and I think the tomatoes in this meal really brighten up the dish. But it turns out the color of tomatoes is what gives them a lot of their health benefits. The beautiful red pigment is the antioxidant lycopene. Lycopene can reduce your risk for heart disease and lower your cholesterol. I didn’t know this before making the recipe, but the olive oil in this meal actually makes the lycopene more effective. Your body will absorb more lycopene when it’s mixed with a fat. Turns out that sundried tomatoes have a crazy amount of lycopene in them (like way more than just a fresh tomato). Studies suggest that tomatoes can lower your risk of prostate, stomach, and lung cancer (which we think is due to those antioxidants, keep up the good work lycopene). The next benefit I learned is…interesting. Tomatoes seem to show an increase in sperm motility. So dudes who are struggling with fertility can start loading up on red sauce to help their sperm start swimming like tiny Michael Phelps. Last little uncommon fact about tomatoes – they help decrease sunburns. Definitely not saying to forget about SPF, but research does show that tomato paste plus olive oil decreases sunburns by 40%. This is tomato’s antioxidant lycopene doing the most for us, again. It seems to be a good protector against UV sunshine. Honestly, that all makes sense to me. The Italians have had the whole tomatoes and olive oil thing down for a while now.


Last thing in general about antioxidants – we seem to reap the health benefits from them only when they’re coming from food and NOT from supplements. Please, please, please keep that in mind. Eat the tomato, drink the spaghetti sauce. Ditch the supplement you decided to try when browsing down the supplement aisle. (Emphasis on YOU decided to try, do what your doctor says.)


Now let’s get to the recipe.






Recipe:


Serving Size: 6 (or 4 very hungry people)


Ingredients:

  • 8 garlic cloves, minced

  • ½ cup of chopped fresh parsley. If preferred, more set aside for serving

  • 12 oz of cherry tomatoes, sliced

  • 2 zucchinis, washed and chopped (keep the skin on)

  • 4 spicy sausages (I used Trader Joe's brand, it was actually so good)

  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (use a quality cheese block, I used Whole Foods brand). If preferred, set aside more grated cheese for serving

  • *2 tsp of red pepper flakes

    • *Start with a chef taste test BEFORE adding any red pepper. Depending on how spicy your dish is from the spicy Italian sausages, you might not need to add more. If you decide you want to add red pepper, I recommend adding ½ tsp increments. This way, you don’t end up crying from the spice level when trying to enjoy your meal.

  • ¼ cup of good quality olive oil

  • 1 lb (16 oz) box of quality pasta (I used Farfalle, bowtie pasta)

  • ¼ cup of reserved pasta water

  • Optional: ¼ tsp of black pepper (freshly ground is preferred)


Directions:

  1. Wash the zucchini so it doesn't have any sandy grit. Chop pieces into ¼ inch pieces. Slice the cherry tomatoes lengthwise in half. You can place the tomatoes and zucchini aside in a bowl.

  2. I like to chop the parsley and set aside in a separate small bowl.

  3. Grate your cheese, set aside.

  4. Remove the casing from the sausage. Do this by slicing only gently through the skin lengthwise. You should be able to then remove the skin easily. Break up the meat with your hands or a kitchen utensil. Discard the casings.

  5. Place the olive oil in a large pan. I used my Dutch oven.

  6. Prepare your minced garlic.

  7. Start the process of preparing your pasta. Turn salted water to high heat.

  8. While waiting for the pasta water to boil, heat the olive oil your large pan on medium heat. Add in the sausage and minced garlic. Cook until you see the sausage getting slightly golden brown, about 6 minutes.

  9. Throw in your prepared zucchini and cherry tomatoes to your pan. Continue to cook until the tomatoes are wrinkled. So if you're looking at the tomatoes, you are definitely sure that there can’t be any Botox left in them. This is how you’ll know that the juices from the tomato have transferred into your sauce, which is what we’re going for.

  10. Once the pasta water is boiling, add pasta and cook according to the box. I would even recommend shaving off 1-2 minutes earlier than the box recommends, since the pasta will continue to cook once we add it your large pan. Be sure to reserve pasta water that will be added to the final dish (¼ cup of pasta water).

  11. Taste your meal before deciding to add black pepper and red pepper flakes to the stove top pan. Add pasta and reserved pasta water once it’s ready.

  12. Turn the stove off. Give your pan a good mix before folding in the grated cheese and parsley.


Serve and enjoy!


Educational Sources:

 
 
 

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