Who doesn’t enjoy a bowl of pasta covered in a rich tomato sauce and then topped with parmesan? I seriously don’t think I know anyone who would turn down pasta, especially during the colder months. Pasta is a total comfort food for me, and honestly I don’t eat it very often because I do try to watch my carb intake, but every once in a while I get a horrible craving for Italian food. And I give into those cravings….. Italian food is probably my favorite cuisine. Lasagna, pizza, spaghetti, pesto, veal parmesan, I want it all.
My absolute favorite is anything with a good marinara sauce. I love it and will eat it by itself. Just give me a bowl of marinara sauce, maybe some meatballs or ground sausage, top with parmesan, and I’m a happy camper. When I do make pasta, my ratio of sauce to noodles is not very Italian. I definitely prefer the pasta to be drowning in sauce. I also like to use a lot of tomato paste. Most recipes seem to call for only a tablespoon or two of tomato paste. I finally just started using the whole little can because the leftovers would always get lost in the back of the fridge and then thrown away a month later. Anyone else have that problem or just me?
For the pasta, well, I spotted this pasta at the grocery store a while back, and it looked fancy, so I bought it. It’s called Italian Trottole pasta. Even the name sounds fancy, but it’s just a spiral, macaroni-type noodle. I impulse-bought it and when the pasta craving hit, I decided it’d go well with a puttanesca sauce. Pasta puttanesca is traditionally made with spaghetti noodles.
The thing I like about puttanesca sauce is that it’s loaded with veggies and fairly versatile. This recipe is pretty forgiving (always a plus), and you can be creative with it. You probably have most of the ingredients in your cupboards or pantry right now. To make pasta more of a healthy meal, I usually pair it with a salad so it’s not just a one-dish meal. There was leftover puttanesca sauce, so I used it with zoodles instead of pasta the second night, and it was still amazing. Enjoy!
- 1 lb Italian Pork Sausage
- 1 medium Onion chopped
- 1 medium Green Bell Pepper chopped
- 2-4 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1/2 cup Manzanilla Olives chopped + some of the liquid from the jar
- 1/2 cup Artichoke Hearts chopped + some of the liquid
- 28 oz can of Whole Tomatoes
- 6 oz can Tomato Paste
- 15 oz can Tomato Sauce
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp if you're not a fan of some heat
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese for topping
- 8 oz pasta - Italian Trottole or similar type of pasta
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Brown sausage over medium heat
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Once sausage is browned, add chopped onion and green pepper. When the onion and pepper start to soften, about 5 minutes or so, add in the garlic, manzanilla olives, and artichoke hearts.
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Stir in some of the juice from the manzanilla olives and artichoke hearts for extra brininess, if that's your thing (it's definitely mine).
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Pour in the canned whole tomatoes, smashing the tomatoes with your spoon or spatula.
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Add in the tomato sauce and tomato pasta.
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Mix in the seasonings - oregano, parsley, red pepper, and black pepper.
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Let puttanesca sauce simmer for ~10-15 minutes to allow flavors to blend together.
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While the sauce simmers, cook pasta according to directions on the package.
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To serve, dish pasta into bowls and cover generously with puttanesca sauce. Top with parmesan.
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