One Dish Complete Pasta Meal

Sometimes what paralyzes me when I think about cooking, is thinking about the number of dishes I'll have to do afterwards. Korean food, for this reason, can be daunting with its numerous side dishes, separate rice bowl, separate soup bowl, separate side dish plates. It's enough to make a cooking person nuts! Which is why, when I cook Western food, I often find myself looking for the dish or complete meal that can be done with minimal plates, dishes, and preparation materials.

So - when I came upon this recipe of Giada de Laurentis, I was quite excited. It was a one dish pasta meal, and it was pretty tasty, even after I made it dairy free. I liked it enough to post it in the blog a few weeks back. The major drawback for me however, was that I felt that it didn't have enough green vegetables to make it a complete one-dish meal. Therefore, today I experimented with wilting baby spinach and baby arugula in the dish - and it was yummy! The girls had it with wilted spinach (because older daughter often complains that arugula is spicy) and grownups had it with wilted arugula. I tried both and found the arugula far more delicious, but for the kids, spinach has a milder flavor and but good for adding the green. Both are yummy, but being the arugula lover I am - I choose arugula first. One more change is that I used the mini farfalle which is now available, as it's easier for the girls to eat. It is a one dish meal and means minimal cleanup, which sometimes means more than anything.

Below is my modification, and the link below that will take you to the original recipe.

Mini Farfalle with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Sausage, Artichokes and Spinach/Arugula

3/4 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced, 2 tablespoons of oil reserved
1 pound Italian hot sausages, casings removed
2 (8-ounce) packages frozen artichoke hearts
5 large cloves garlic, chopped (I like it garlicky, and since there is no cheese I thought I needed extra flavor)
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
16 ounces mini farfalle pasta
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3 cups of either baby arugula or baby spinach, washed and dried
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil reserved from the tomatoes in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown, breaking up the meat into bite-size pieces with a fork, about 8 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl. Add the artichokes and garlic to the same skillet, and saute over medium heat until the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, wine, and sun-dried tomatoes. Boil over medium-high heat until the sauce reduces slightly, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the fusilli in boiling water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta (do not rinse). Add the pasta, sausage, basil, and tomato to the artichoke mixture. Toss until the sauce is almost absorbed by the pasta. Stir in the arugula/spinach. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/fusilli-with-sausage-artichokes-and-sun-dried-tomatoes-recipe/index.html