One-pot Tomato and Sausage (or Bean) Pasta with Greens

15 minutes, start to finish, adaptable and delicious and a good reason for having canned tomatoes and small pasta shapes in the pantry. You can use larger shapes and more of it (more like 3 cups of penne). [caption id="attachment_13629" align="aligncenter" width="438"] This version uses tender spring raab for the greens.[/caption]   Variations You can substitute cooked beans/chickpeas for the sausage, to make a meat-free version. You can use parsley instead of basil Delicious choices for tender greens are spring raab, spinach, chard, turnip, beet greens and/or tender kale greens. Enjoy in any combination. Use fresh tomatoes instead of canned Other great small noodle choices are Pipette rigate, Conchiglie (shell), or Orecchiette. ... Read more »

One-pot Tomato and Sausage (or Bean) Pasta with Greens

15 minutes, start to finish, adaptable and delicious and a good reason for having canned tomatoes and small pasta shapes in the pantry. You can use larger shapes and more of it (more like 3 cups of penne).

This version uses tender spring raab for the greens.

 

Variations

  • You can substitute cooked beans/chickpeas for the sausage, to make a meat-free version.
  • You can use parsley instead of basil
  • Delicious choices for tender greens are spring raab, spinach, chard, turnip, beet greens and/or tender kale greens. Enjoy in any combination.
  • Use fresh tomatoes instead of canned
  • Other great small noodle choices are Pipette rigate, Conchiglie (shell), or Orecchiette.

Serves 4

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 cloves garlic, minced

2 (spicy) pork sausages, sliced into rounds and then cut into half-rounds or crumbled (I keep sausages in the freezer which makes them easy to cut) or 2 cups cooked or canned, drained beans

1 1/3 cups tubetti or ditalini (see variations)

1 28-oz can tomatoes, juice and all, or 3 1/2 cups diced, fresh tomatoes

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt (if your tomatoes are salted and you’re using a spicy sausage you may only need 1/4 teaspoon)

1 bunch tender greens, washed and finely chopped (see variations)

Fresh basil or parsley (optional)

Grated Parmesan (optional)

Drizzle of olive oil, to finish

 

Heat the oil in a large skillet, for which you have a lid, over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and sausage (or cooked beans) and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add pasta, tomatoes, salt and water and stir well. Cover and bring to a simmer. Stir again to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick. Cover again and cook for 8 minutes or until pasta is almost tender. Add the greens and incorporate well. Cook for another minute or two until just tender and sauce is thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt. Finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil and serve with fresh herbs and Parmesan, if you’d like.

 

8 thoughts on “One-pot Tomato and Sausage (or Bean) Pasta with Greens”

  • Jennifer Sprague says:

    I agree: I loved this. I used a mix of jarred diced tomatoes, a couple of fresh tomatoes and some tomato sauce to equal 28 oz.; penne pasta; a chicken sausage, diced; and a bunch of spinach and some fresh basil.

  • This was delicious tonight with “What I had” – cooked cannelini beans from the freezer, fresh yellow tomatoes, fresh turnip greens, onion, garlic, frozen basil puree, and orrecchiette – no sausage and no salt. (We are on low salt diet) It was so delicious and simple!

    • cookwithwhatyouhave says:

      Thanks for sharing your version. It sounds great, except the no-salt part (!) which would be challenging for me but we adapt to what we need to do. So glad it was tasty.

  • Gretchen Kloeppel says:

    I used Anellini pasta and vegan sausage, garbanzo beans and spinach. With this pasta shape, it reminded me of an adult version of the Spaghetti O’s with hot dogs that I used to “make” as a kid.

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