Ramblings from my Kitchen: Pasta with Cannellini Beans & Sausages

Give me a bad day and I like to make it awesome by cooking up a storm in the kitchen. After a tough day at work today, I decided to make a healthy, yummy dinner instead of the usual take-out. Of all the things I cook, making variations of Pasta is definitely my idea of ‘Experimenting with Food’!

I have experimented with the Pasta for a while now. Bored with the usual Pasta Primavera, i decided to try my hand with the sauces and ingredients. I came across a new variety of Tomato Sauce (again, bored with Ragu) – Loyd Grossman‘s Tomato and Basil Pasta sauce. So I decided to whip up something fun, delicious and healthy to eat using that and a few more ingredients from my kitchen.  So here is my rendition of

Pasta with Cannellini Beans and Pepper Sausages in Tomato&Basil sauce

Ingredients:

• Whole-wheat Fussilli pasta (or you can use Spaghetti) – 250 gms
• Onion – 1 medium size
• Green Pepper – 1 medium size
• Black olives – 1/4th cup
• Jalapeños – a few cut pieces
• Sausage – 1 roll, cut into round pieces
• Garlic – 2 cloves, cut into small pieces
• Loyd Grossman’s Tomato&Basil sauce – 1 Cup
• Cannellini Beans (I use the tinned ones, these are the White kidney beans) – 1 Cup
• Pepper
• Salt to taste
• Chilli flakes – 1 tbsp
• Oregano – 1 tbsp
• Olive oil to cook
• Grated cheese – to serve

1. Boil the pasta in salt water, al dente for about 7-9 minutes and drain it into a sieve.
2. Put a fork in the Green pepper and place it on the Gas Stove for 5 minutes, turning it around on all sides, till the skin blackens. Take it off the gas and put into a bowl of cold water. Peel off the skin with the blunt side of the knife and cut into thin strips.
3. Cut the Onion Julienne.
4. Cut the Sausages into round pieces. Put 2 tsp Olive oil in a pan and sauté the Sausages till slightly brown.

Making the Pasta Sauce (takes 15 minutes):

1. Put 1 tbsp Olive oil in a pan and add the garlic
2. Once the garlic turns slightly brown, add the onion and sauté for about 4-5 minutes
3. Add the green pepper and stir for about 2 minutes
4. Add the Cannellini beans and let the mix simmer in its own juice for about 2 minutes, till the juice starts drying up
5. Add the sautéed  sausages, olives and jalapeños and cook for another 4 minutes
6. Add 5 tbsp of warm water into the Loyd Grossman Pasta Sauce and then add it into the pan
7. Add Chilli flakes, Oregano, salt and pepper and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes

Plate up!

• Take a plate and place the boiled pasta
• Drizzle 1 tsp of Olive oil on top of the pasta
• Pour the Pasta sauce over the pasta
• Add some grated cheese and some pepper on the top
• Serve with Garlic bread