Here’s an easy pesto pasta recipe for a busy weeknight. I had a bunch of leftover basil, so I asked myself “what can I do with this that my children will eat?” Pasta with pesto, of course.
Chicken sausages were on sale at Big Y this week and I happened to also have an abundance of potatoes, so this was a hearty meal I was able to whip together quickly.
Is the carbs-upon-carbs thing with pasta and potatoes a bit much? Yeah maybe, but potatoes are one of the most filling foods in existence. I also threw in half a box of baby spinach greens for the sake of fiber, color and extra veggies.
Penne With Pesto, Potatoes & Sausage
Servings: 4
Calories: 585kcal
Equipment
- 1 food processor or blender
Ingredients
Pesto Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup fresh basil
- ¼ cup walnuts (or pine nuts)
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 1 ounce shredded Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup water
Other Ingredients
- 2 potatoes (chopped into about ½-inch pieces)
- 8 ounces penne pasta
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound chicken sausage (sliced)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 4 ounces baby spinach leaves
- 1 ounce shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Put all the pesto ingredients in a food processor and pulse until blended.
- Chop the potatoes into ½-inch cubes. Put the potatoes in a large pot, and fill the pot about halfway full with water.
- Put the pot on the stove over high heat with the lid on, until the water boils.
- When the water in the pot begins to boil, add the pasta to the pot. Take the lid off, and let the potatoes and pasta boil together for about 12 minutes, until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork and the pasta is "al-dente."
- Meanwhile, while waiting for water and pasta to boil, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a skillet. Cook the sliced sausage over medium heat until the sausage is nice and brown.
- Add about ¼ cup of water to the skillet to deglaze (scrape up all the browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the skillet)
- Add the garlic and spinach leaves. Stir the spinach leaves until they wilt down. When spinach wilts, remove the skillet from the heat and set aside until the pasta is ready.
- When the pasta and potatoes are done cooking, drain in a colander and return to the big stockpot.
- Stir the sausage/spinach mixture together with the pasta/potatoes, pesto, and the remaining 1 ounce of Parmesan cheese.
