To give credit where credit is due, this recipe came from an email I received from La Dolce Vita Wine Tours. They have shuttered their doors recently (last couple years) and I receive this when I reached out to them while planning our honeymoon. This is a very simple recipe but quite delish. I am pitting it here because I am tired of searching through my email to look for it! How’s that for laziness?!?!
As usual, I don’t have pictures of the final product. I am going to include my augmentations because, if you have read any of my previous recipes, you’d know I am heavy handed as well as I make a larger amount for my growing belly – I mean family!
FYI – This can be made gluten-free with a good GF pasta like Taste Republic made by RP Pasta in Madison, WI. Serve with a nice salad – Caprese perhaps? The irritating thing about this recipe is that you need to open or have open 2 bottles of wine! Drink up, Johnny!
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2–3 springs rosemary
- 1/4 lb. each sweet & spicy ground Italian sausage (full lb)
- 1/4 cup Italian white wine (1/2 cup)
- 1/4 cup Italian red wine (1/2 cup)
- salt
- 1/2 lb. orecchiette pasta (2x 10oz fresh pasta of choice)
- 20-30 seedless green grapes (more as desired)
- freshly ground pepper
(Blatant word for word directions from here…Adjust to suit your needs!)
Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Pick the rosemary leaves off the stem and add to the skillet. Reserve some of the rosemary leaves for garnish. Allow the rosemary to cook for 1 minute to release its aroma. Add the sausage and sauté until it is well-browned all over, about 10 to 12 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the wine: Add the white and red wines to the skillet, and bring to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat before adding the alcohol, then return the pan to the flame. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the flavorful bits of sausage on the bottom of the pan. (The deglazing process intensifies the flavor by incorporating those caramelized pieces of meat back into the sauce.)
When the water reaches a boil, add salt and the orecchiette. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente and drain. Add the grapes to the simmering sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer until the sauce begins to thicken, about 4 minutes. Add the pasta to the simmering sauce. Cook everything together for another 2 minutes, then toss well. Serve the pasta in warm bowls and garnish with the reserved rosemary.
In brief... budding blogger, SQL DBA, home chef, studio musician (guitar/pedal steel), amateur photographer, husband, father, dog owner, scotch drinker and all around crazy person.
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