Magic Pasta
Last August, I canned 118 pounds of tomatoes. Broke ’em down one-by-one and divvied up them up into whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, plain tomato sauce, pizza sauce, and marinara sauce. And while I certainly do use those the other products, the biggest motivator is the marinara sauce. Which I ration carefully across the year for one dish and one dish only.
Magic Pasta.
Having stumbled across this delightful combination of ingredients by pure accident, I accidentally discovered a meal that Brad and I both find so perfect, so delicious, that I have to work really really hard to make anything else for dinner. Originally hatched as a way to use up the previous year’s supply of home-canned marinara sauce, this dish now holds permanent quarters at the top of our favorites list. I know that “Magic Pasta” doesn’t really indicate the components of the meal particularly well, but it’s all we call it. If you prefer, you can call it Pasta with Amazing Tomato Cream Sauce and Italian Sausage.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to go back in time to can your own pasta sauce to make this dish at home. A store-bought marinara would work just fine, or you can make your own version fairly quickly by spicing up a pint of plain tomato sauce. The sweet Italian sausage, on the other hand, is non-negotiable. We’ve tried it with chicken and with ground beef, and while both are good, neither one achieves the magic of the sausage.
With a little cream, sugar, salt, and pepper, the sauce is simple and cooks quickly while the pasta boils nearby. It takes almost no time at all.
I urge you, nay, I beg you to make this pasta. I’m looking out for you, and I’m telling you, you NEED this in your life this week. I know it’s summer and everyone’s all into salads and smoothies and juice, but please lay those ideas aside and make yourself a big pot of tomato-y, sausage-y pasta.
Then invite me over so I can eat some, too.
Magic Pasta
Serves 3-4
10 oz rigatoni or penne
2 links sweet Italian sausage
1 pint marinara sauce (see note below)
1/2 c heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 T granulated sugar
Note: If you don’t already have a marinara sauce you like, combine 1 pint of plain tomato sauce with 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp dried basil as a substitute.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat while you prepare the sauce below. Cook pasta to al denté.
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Slice the end of each sausage and squeeze the sausage out of the casing and into the frying pan. (If you prefer, you can slice the sausage into coins, instead.) Cook sausage until it is cooked through and starting to brown.
Without draining the pan, pour the marinara sauce into a large frying pan with the sausage. Add heavy cream, salt, pepper, and sugar and stir well until sauce is a uniform color. Allow sauce to bubble, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, to allow the sauce to thicken. Stir frequently.
Drain pasta and return to the pot. Add sauce to the pasta and mix thoroughly.
Serve immediately. Good luck keeping leftovers for more than two hours.
