The last couple of weeks have been intense in Forager land, with excitement happening as far away as Mexico and, of course, right here in Brooklyn. I'm back on track on this spring day that feels like summer to tell you about a recipe that was born out of a winter day that suddenly turned into spring.
I love spring! It offers up brief baths of sunshine in the coldest days of winter and, for a couple of weeks, plays hide and seek as well. On one of the first beautiful spring days, I hit the Grand Army Plaza Farmers' Market to take advantage of the textile recycling and see what was on offer.
In poking around the booths, I found Bradley Farm , based in New Paltz, NY, with beautiful pork sausage on display. I loaded up on onions for the Tigress Can Jam and got some late winter butternut squash and greens. These seemed like the perfect ingredients for a last cold weather casserole, until spring came out from hiding in full force, screaming for something lighter - less squash, more leeks.
I went with a recipe from Lidia Bastianich using sausage, leeks and campanelle. I've actually not made one of her recipes before and can't imagine why I never did. The recipe was simple, flavorful and really beautiful. I found tricolor vegetable radiatore at Trader Joe's that mimicked the campanelle just enough to catch the sauce and bits of sausage. It also called for just a small amount of sausage which stretched a pricey and amazingly tasty product a long way.
Sausage and Leek Pasta (adapted from Lidia Bastianich)
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2/3 lb sweet Italian sausage (casings removed), crumbled
- 2 large leeks, trimmed, light green and white parts cut into 1/2-inch pieces, washed well, and drained
- 1/2 small white onion, minced
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cups frozen young peas
- 1 cup homemade or low-salt chicken broth
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb. campanelle or other shaped, dried pasta
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving if you like
- Heat large pot of salted water for the pasta.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage, breaking up the lumps, until golden, about 5 minutes.
- Add the leeks and cook, stirring, until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook for 1 minute.
- Add 1 Tbs. of the butter, the peas, and the broth. Heat to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, cover the skillet, and set aside; keep warm.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot over low heat. Add the sausage and leek sauce to the pasta and toss well. Remove the pot from the heat, add the remaining 1 Tbs. butter and the grated cheese; toss well.
- Transfer to a warmed serving platter or individual bowls. Serve immediately, with more grated cheese on the side, if you like.