A Lesson in Minimizing

But not a lesson in minimizing a function. No, this is minimizing the work involved in prepping your meal, compliments of The Minimalist (aka Mark Bittman). The New York Times columnist has so many recipes I didn't know where to begin. But the night before Thanksgiving the Poppers wanted pasta for dinner. And no poultry of course. But there had to be meat. At least he narrowed it down to the "Bread, Noodles and Rice" chapter of Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times. As I sifted through I settled on Pasta with Sausage. Mark (mmm hmmm we're on a first name basis) offers many variations for his recipes, some of which I took advantage of in this recipe. 

I made this with organic Penne from Trader Joe's and I must say it added a nice touch the dish. Who knew. I'll make a note of the ingredients that were from the variations, as opposed to the original recipe. I also doubled the amount of sausage called for (using 1 pound instead of 1/2 pound). 

Pasta with Sausage

Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times (Mark Bittman)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup onion, minced (variation)

1 shallot, minced (variation)

1/2 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, removed from the casing

1 can plum tomatoes (variation)

1 pound ziti or other cut pasta

1/2 cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and shallot, if using. As the butter melts, crumble the sausage meat into it, making the bits quite small, 1/2 inch or less in size. Add 1/2 cup of water and tomatoes (if using) and adjust the heat so that mixture simmers gently. 

Cook the pasta until it is tender but not at all mushy. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta-cooking water. 

Drain the pasta and dress with sauce, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid if necessary. Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary. Toss with Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.