Pasta Inspiration: Big Bowl of Radiatore with Sausage, Onions, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, and Basil

Harris Teeter's (I know, not 
very Italian) Radiatore, 
still steaming hot!

After writing about all of those delicious pastas yesterday, I decided to try a kind that I'd never had: Radiatore (aka Radiators)!  They're this funny little shape that looks like a spiral on one side, but the other side is hollowed out like a cuff bracelet.  It's bizarre and intriguing and keeps dinner a little exciting !  Pastas like this have all of the nooks and crannies to really maximize the sauce and other ingredients you choose.  I love the traditional fettuccine, linguine, penne, and so forth, but somehow a uniquely shaped pasta adds a je ne sais pas to an otherwise fairly ordinary dish.

A and I were both exhausted yesterday after long days at work (I was at a conference all day and A was trapped at her computer in cubicle-land) and neither of us wanted to cook, but we didn't want to eat cereal or bad freezer food.  After rummaging through the pantry, I found a hidden bag of pasta that I don't remember buying!  I remember there being a "4 for $5" deal, but I thought I stuck to the basics... apparently I thought these were typical Rotini spirals, but surprise! they're way cooler!

Detail of the funny-shaped
Radiatore pasta

So now I have pasta, I know there's some garlic in the fridge and some frozen spicy Italian sausage in the freezer... What can I do with these?  ...Pick up some tomatoes, fresh basil (yum), mushrooms, and a white onion and we're in business.  A and I joke that this is our "Hodgepodge" meal, because we end up making something similar to this every time we have random ingredients and don't want something hard to cook.  ...A quick run to the grocery store and 20 minutes later we'll have a hot dinner with plenty of leftovers for this weekend when we don't want to cook again!  It's similar to the Fresh Tomato, Basil, and Pecorino Romano Pasta I shared earlier, but this is the easy way to get rid of leftover ingredients in your fridge in one, quick meal.  Make it your own!

HODGEPODGE PASTA 

(When you need to clean out the fridge and pantry)

Ingredients:

1 lb of Radiattore (or whichever shape suits your fancy) pasta

3 links of hot Italian sausage (I do 1 link/person, but we wanted extra so 3 worked)

1-2 cans of diced tomatoes (2 if you want a soupier, sauce-heavy meal)

1 6-oz package of pre-sliced mushrooms

1/2 white onion, diced

1 bunch of fresh basil (choose a bigger bunch if you want lots of basil and for garnish)

Fresh, shredded Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese (for sprinkling on top)

Salt & Pepper

Oregano or other Italian seasonings you may want

Preparation:

Boil water in a large pot for the pasta.  While the water is boiling, prepare the sausage.  You can either slice it for small rounds of sausage, or remove it from the casing and be crumbled (more like hamburger meat).  If you're slicing, I've found it easier to cut them when they're cold because they hold their shape better, then defrost; otherwise defrost first before removing from casing.

Hot Italian sausage cooking (and
making plenty of its own oil)

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet; add the sausage (the oil should be hot enough that the sausage sizzles as soon as it hits the pan).  You don't need a lot of olive oil for this recipe because the sausage itself will produce enough oil.

Cook sausage thoroughly on medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes tops.  Place a piece of aluminum foil underneath 4-5 layers of paper towels (you can fold them); place the sausage on the paper towel/aluminium foil.  The paper towel will absorb some of the unnecessary grease and the aluminum foil keeps the oil from seeping through to the counter or plate underneath.
  
...By now, the water should be boiling for the pasta.  Reduce the heat to medium and cover to keep warm; once you start the veggies in the skillet, bring it back to a boil.  The Radiatore cook in 5 minutes, so you want to leave the pasta for last; it's a pain to wait for water to boil, so I do it ahead and keep it warm until I'm ready.  

Cooking the mushrooms 
and onion

In the same warm large skillet, pour about 2-3 tbsp of olive oil and add the garlic first; let garlic cook at medium high for 1 minute and then add the diced onions.  Let this cook for another minute.  Add the mushrooms and a minute or 2 later, add 1 can diced tomatoes, with juice; stir occasionally.

Cook until mushrooms are tender (about 4 minutes).  Add the "de-greased" sausage back to the skillet and mix with the rest of the ingredients.  Cook for 2 minutes and then add the fresh diced tomato last.  Tomatoes cook the fastest out of all the ingredients, so to avoid overcooking them, add them last.

Steaming hot sausage, onions, 

garlic, mushrooms, and tomato 

mixture... almost done!

Salt and pepper the mixture and add some Italian spices; I usually add a little oregano and then double that amount with and a pre-mixed Italian seasoning blend of spices.

Stir mixture together and let the tomato juice come to a slight boil.  Remove from heat.  When pasta is done, remove from heat and drain.  Done with the cooking... on to the presentation!  Pour pasta into a large serving bowl.  Pour sausage mixture over the top of the pasta.

The meal before a little make-over (still looking
delicious and steaming hot)!

Just to show you the difference that basil can make, I took a picture before I added the basil (right).  Then I tore up about 6-8 good-sized basil leaves into tiny pieces and sprinkled on top of the dish.  Finally, I took 4 whole leaves and arranged in a circle in the middle of the pasta (see photo) and added an intact basil bud with smaller leaves to the middle.  

...And whammy!  There you go, a beautiful and presentable dish.  It tastes as good as it looks.  Sometimes I feel a little silly garnishing a dish just for A and I to destroy .5 seconds later, but I figure it's good practice and it looks damn good for those .5 seconds.

The masterpiece.  Perfetto!!!

Even if you eat most of your meals on the floor like A and I do, you can still take pride in having a beautiful, delicious meal.  Pasta, sausage, basil, cheese, and beer all while watching Glee on our DVR!!  I can't think of a better evening!

Buon Appetito!

Our typical dinner positions: I'm on the left in the photo

 (right of the TV) and A is on the right (left of the TV). 

We don't know why, but we NEVER deviate from this little 

gem of happiness, our spots on the rug watching TV!