April Ninth

Tuesday is date night at the Gillespie house. This week we wanted to try a new recipe - and it was definitely a huge hit! I have to give a shout to Real Simple for the original recipe.

Pasta with sausage, arugula, and crispy bread crumbs (creative name, I know).

Ingredients:
3/4 pound gemelli or short pasta (we used cannellini pasta)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup panko
1 teaspoon dried thyme
kosher salt
black pepper
3/4 pound Italian sausage links, casings removed
1 medium onion, thinly sliced (we did about 1/3rd of an onion).
5 ounces baby arugula (we did about 3 ounces)

1. Cook pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of water. Drain pasta, pour into large bowl
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring often, until golden brown. Mix in the thyme and 1/4 teaspoon of both salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl; set aside.
3. Head 1 teaspoon of oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion and cook, breaking up the sausage, until the onion is soft and the sausage is browned.
4. Add the sausage mixture, arugula, and 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and toss to combine. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and serve. (We also added parmigiano reggiano)