Sausage, Beans And Spinach With Pasta

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 1/2 lbs italian sausages (casings removed)
• 2 -3 tablespoons oil
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 -2 celery rib, diced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 (14 ounce) can whole tomatoes, with juice and chopped
• 2 -3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 lb penne (dry pasta) or 1 lb rigatoni pasta (dry pasta)
• 1 1/2 cups cannellini or 1 1/2 cups beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 (10 ounce) bag fresh spinach
• 1/4-1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons whipping cream (unwhipped)
• salt and pepper
• parmesan cheese (to garnish)

Recipe

• 1 in a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the crumbled sausage for about 8-10 minutes, breaking up with a spoon; drain any fat and set aside.
• 2 add oil to the skillet and add in carrot, celery, onion and garlic; cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
• 3 stir in tomatoes with juice, wine, tomato paste and the cooked sausage; mix to combine and reduce heat to a simmer; cook for about 45-50 minutes or until sauce has thickened (cook longer if desired).
• 4 meanwhile cook the pasta until just firm-tender; drain, but reserve 1/4 cup of the water.
• 5 to the reserved water in a saucepan, add in the fresh spinach, beans, parsley and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, cream, salt, pepper; cook over medium heat until hot and the spinach has wilted (about 3-4 minutes).
• 6 toss sauce with pasta in a large serving bowl.
• 7 sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.