Quick Dinner: Rigatoni with Sausage, Mushrooms, and Spinach in a Pink Sauce

There’s something about a pink sauce… The tangy, acidic tomato combined with the rich and silky cream is so luxurious.  The smooth sauce finishes with a wonderful heat that cuts through the richness and rounds out the flavor.  Needless to say, pink sauce is a big part of my life.

This recipe is an expansion on a recipe I’ve been making forever.  One day I was making the pink sauce with sausage when my roommate Christine said, “That reminds me of something I make with mushrooms and spinach.”  I thought, “Wow, that sounds even better than the original recipe” so I decided to try it out.  This also contributes to my general food philosophy, which is “more vegetables are more good.”  And yeah, I guess the heavy cream in this recipe also contributes to my overall philosophy of moderation.  Vegetables are good, and so is cream (sometimes).  The other great thing about this dinner is that it’s quick!  It took me 45 minutes from filling the pot with water to sitting down and eating this while watching The Borgias on Netflix.  It’s not necessarily the meal for a night when you have a late meeting, but it’s definitely an achievable weekday dinner.

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepping the mushrooms.  There is this big urban myth that you can't wash mushrooms, and I'm here to tell you that it's just not true.  Alton Brown agrees, and made a point to mention it during his live show in Athens a couple of weeks ago.  Gone are the days of delicately brushing each mushroom with a little brush - you're welcome.  I like to put a colander in the sink and run a steady, but not too powerful, stream of cold water outside of the colander.  I quickly wash each mushroom so there is no visible dirt and place in the colander.  Place the colander next to the cutting board and trim the woody end of each stem (but don't remove the stem completely) and slice. One more quick note about mushrooms: you could use regular white button mushrooms here, but the cremini (or "baby bella") mushrooms have a more robust flavor and firmer texture that I especially appreciate for Italian dishes.

Once the mushrooms are prepped remove the sausage from the casing and brown in a little olive oil over medium heat.  Break up the sausage into bite-sized pieces as you cook and be careful to stir frequently so they do not burn.  Once fully cooked, remove the sausage from the pan and add the mushrooms, crushed red pepper flakes, dried oregano, and salt and pepper.  Cook the sausage until brown and cooked through before adding the crushed garlic (I use my favorite kitchen tool - a garlic press) and spinach.  Season the spinach with salt and pepper to build well seasoned and even layers of flavor.  Once the spinach wilts return the sausage to the pan and add one 14.5 oz can of crushed tomatoes and season with a little more salt.  Stir together and add heavy cream and bring to a simmer.  If you didn't want to add the heavy cream (which I'll grudgingly admit is a valid healthier alternative) you can use one 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes and proceed without the cream.

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce, turn off the heat and stir until fully combined.  Serve with grated cheese, and maybe garnish with some fresh basil if you're a food blogger or you're planning to put this on Instagram.

Rigatoni with Sausage, Mushrooms, and Spinach in a Pink Sauce

Adapted from Today's Mama, and Christine Licata

Ingredients

• 1 lb. rigatoni (or other tubular pasta)
• 3-4 links of Italian sausage
• 10 oz. cremini mushrooms
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3-4 cups of spinach, chopped
• 14.5 oz. crushed tomatoes
• 1 pt. heavy cream
• ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp. oregano
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil
2. Wash and slice mushrooms
3. Remove sausage from casings and cook over medium heat until browned.
4. Remove sausage from the pan and add sliced mushrooms, season with salt and pepper.  Cook until browned and cooked through.
5. Add crushed garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, and chopped spinach to the pan and season with salt and pepper.
6. Once spinach has wilted return the sausage to the pan and add crushed tomatoes.  Season with salt.
7. Once tomatoes begin to simmer add heavy cream and season with black pepper. 
8. Stir to combine until sauce begins to bubble and reduce to a simmer.
9. Once pasta is cooked to al dente drain and add to pan.
10. Serve with grated parmesean or romano cheese.