5/26/2012 Basket - Pasta with Sausage, Artichoke, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Pasta with Sausage, Artichoke, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Uses from this basket: Artichoke, tomato
Other produce: Garlic

Cook 1 lb. sausage over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it browns. Transfer cooked sausage to a bowl. Add a little olive oil to the remaining sausage fat in the frying pan. Add artichoke hearts (we used hearts from two artichokes) and 4 cloves chopped garlic to the frying pan and cook until garlic is tender, about two minutes.

Add 1 3/4 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cup dry white wine*, and 3/4 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes and boil over medium-high heat until the sauce reduces slightly, stirring occasionally, about eight minutes. We used our tomatoes from our basket and oven-dried them, a process I will document in a later post.

While the broth/wine mixture is reducing, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add a pound of your favorite pasta, (Giada recommends fusilli), and cook until tender but still firm, about eight minutes. Drain the pasta. Add the pasta, sausage, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup chopped basil leaves, and 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley to the artichoke mixture. Toss until sauce is well mixed with pasta. Stir in 8 oz. mozzarella; season to taste with salt and pepper.

*When I made the recipe we didn't have any white wine, so I increased the chicken broth amount to 2 cups and added 2 Tb. of lemon juice.

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