We just made this for dinner tonight, and it was so good we ate the entire recipe between the two of us! It is a modified recipe that I found in Cooking Light magazine - cooks up quickly and easily! Orecchiette is also known as "little ear" pasta, and can be found boxed in the grocery store pasta aisle. Feel free to use whatever sausage is your favorite - we especially like the selections at Costco.
Ingredients:
8 oz Orcchiette Pasta, uncooked
1 tsp Olive Oil
2 cups Red Bell Pepper, sliced into 1/4" strips, then halved crosswise
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
8 oz Chicken or Turkey Sausage, cut in half lengthwise then sliced
1/2 (16oz) can diced Tomatoes (preferably fire roasted), undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh Basil
1/4 tsp dried Oregano
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
4 oz Feta Cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup sliced Kalamata Olives
1/4 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
2. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat, add bell pepper and 1/4 tsp salt, and saute 2 minutes. Add sausage, tomatoes, basil, oregano, the remaining 1/4 tsp salt, and garlic; saute 5 minutes or until sausage is cooked through.
3. Add cooked pasta, reserved cooking liquid, feta, olives, and pepper; saute 2 minutes until heated through.
Serve with crusty bread to sop up the juices. Serves 4 (serving size 1 1/2 cup).
