30-Minute Orecchiette with Sausage and Spinach
This Orecchiette with Sausage and Spinach is a simple recipe with a delicious Italian sausage, garlic, spinach and white wine sauce that you can have on the table in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- ½ lb orecchiette pasta 250 grams
- 1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed 454 grams
- ½ medium onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped or minced
- 1 teaspoon stone-ground Dijon mustard 5 grams
- 1/2 cup dry white wine 125 ml
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach 90 grams
- Salt & pepper to taste optional
- Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Instructions
- Cook pasta al dente according to package instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, add the sausage and onion to a skillet and sauté over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes until cooked through and nicely browned.
- Reduce the heat to medium and stir in chopped garlic and mustard. Add white wine and cook for another minute or two just until the wine is reduced by half.
- Turn off heat, add spinach and toss just until the spinach has wilted. Add pasta and toss to coat. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Transfer to serving bowls and top with freshly grated Parmigiano. Serve hot.
Notes
Orecchiette: I really like orecchiette for this recipe, but any short pasta will do in a pinch.
Italian sausage: You can use mild or spicy sausage or spicy fennel sausage like you see here.
Mustard: I always have stone-ground mustard on hand. Dijon is the next best thing, and yellow mustard would also work, albeit with a slightly brighter colour and flavour.
Dry white wine: The white wine creates the foundation of your sauce, so to get the best result you’ll want to choose a wine you’d actually drink. To omit the ½ cup wine, replace with ¼ cup white wine vinegar mixed with ¼ cup water or broth. If you don't have white wine vinegar, substituting ½ cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth will also give you similar depth of flavour.
Storage: Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw to room temperature then reheat in a small sauce pan with a splash of broth until warmed through.