There was not a whole lot that went into this Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard, neither time or ingredients, so I promise there won't be a lot in this blog post, either. It really can't get much simpler than this; wait until you see how easy it is!
Like most pasta dishes, I started out boiling some water, and if you were with me yesterday, you'd see there's an actual right and wrong way to do it. If you missed it, by all means, check it out here. If you are with me so far, then get your pasta water rolling and let's move on...
This recipe calls for hot Italian sausage and also has a small pinch of red pepper flake. That means this dish has a little spicy kick and that is what marries this perfectly with the mustard.
I bought cased sausage and removed the casings, but if you want to to buy it already loose and ground, by all means, go for it.
This dish also calls for fresh basil, sliced thin, or "chiffonade"or shredded - and I was all set to do that until I took my package from the fridge. I just bought it a few days ago and it looked ok, but when I moved the top few leaves of basil aside, the remainder of the package was lightyears beyond fresh. I tossed the whole package and opted for its dried cousin. It was still very delicious regardless and I'll just chock this one up to "winter in New England" and try to make this dish more often when the herb garden is fresh.
The first thing to cook was the sausage, and I threw it in a hot, deep skillet with the oil and mashed it up, cooking until crumbled and brown. I then added garlic the last minute of cooking until it too, started to brown.
At this point, the wine went in to boil down a bit and then the cream, mustard and red pepper flake. It all simmered for a few minutes while I worked on straining the hot penne from the pasta water.
This recipe called for whole grain mustard or "grainy mustard," and I happened to have just enough Maille in this jar for the recipe.
Grainy mustards are mustard preparations for which the seeds have been roughly ground, and not sieved of their hulls. In other words, it's mustard with visible mustard seeds. While the seeds taste bitter with a strong, pungent flavor, additional ingredients like vinegar, honey, and other elements make it spicier, sweeter, tangy and more delicious. If you have one you already love, by all means use it. If not, than you can have fun trying the varieties you see in the grocery store until you land on one that works.
At this point, the pasta and basil got mixed into the pan with everything else and it was time to eat. I honestly think this meal took me 20 minutes from the time I placed the cold pot of water on the stovetop to the time we dished some on our plates. It was fast and easy, but more importantly, it was GOOD!
I'm not a big fan of mustard; I don't put it on hot dogs or pile it on my burgers. I leave it off sausage grinders and I'm not a fan of it on kielbasa - but this meal, this mustard dish right here, Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard - was delicious! Try it, you have nothing to lose, but if you enjoy it as much as we did, you just may have a regular, no fuss meal to work into your midweek dinner rotation.
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