SAUSAGE, TOMATOES, W ARUGULA PESTO 7-2

I spent all day working out this recipe...and it was worth every minute of it! I even shunned the food processor and ground out my own pesto. As always I did not measure anything. You have to prepare this once intuitively, and then make adjustments as needed. The next time I make it I'll use more pesto.



INGREDIENTS:

Italian sausage cut into bite sized pieces
Grape tomatoes halved and quartered
Olive oil
Garlic
Arugula, chopped
Pine nuts
Parmesan cheese
Red wine
Mozzarella cheese cut into small pieces

PROCESS:

Grind the arugula, pine nuts,garlic, and cheese with olive oil in a mortar and pestle until paste like, and set aside.



Brown the sausage over high heat, remove, and set aside. Deglaze pan w red wine if needed, lower heat and add garlic and tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until sausage is cooked through.

Add the pasta to the pan then add the arugula pesto and the mozzarella cheese plus some pasta water.



COMMENTS:

Of course I loved it...as did Patience. This is not the time for false modesty. It was scrumptious! OK...I will admit that I would like cardboard it it was served with sausage. But seriously, this dish is worth the effort.