Here's a saucy, creamy pasta dish without a lick of cream or milk and only a wee bit of cheese. The trick is to cook the pasta like risotto, which releases starch into the liquid that becomes the sauce. The toasting step adds nutty, rich character and is a step we don't advise skipping.
Some cooks complained on the time spent preparing this dish. Not I. I have a large very old thick-walled Dutch Pot to cook on stove top. So after I browned penne in the flat large skillet, I moved the penne to the Dutch Pot to cook it there in Chicken Stock. I've used less than 32 oz of stock for 8 oz of penne-much less than the recipe called for. Penne turned out simply awesome ! (I did add a little butter to it at the end of cooking, though). One complaint-onions and sausage didn't brown. Next time, I'll brown onion first, then add sausage and quickly sautee it (it gets done very quickly). Beware of parmesan-it adds a considerable amount of salt. Lemon juice is a good addition. Will do this recipe again.
This has become one of my favorite pasta dishes. I save it for when I have plenty of time to enjoy being in the kitched with family or friends. I catch up with my teenage daughters while we cook together - the prep is easy and quick, then one of us stirs while the others make a salad, bread and/or dessert. Definitely use a good quality STOCK (not broth) and take your time. It is SO worth it.
I did not think this recipe was worth the time it took to make. Even after 45 minutes of stirring, the stock still wasn't fully soaked up and I was afraid that the pasta would get too soggy if I kept trying. I would have preferred to just boil the pasta separately and toss it with the onions and sausage and finish with the lemon and cheese. I will not make this again.
This recipe did take 2x longer than stated in magazine. That said, it is worth making, as long as you have time. I used trader Joe's sweet italian chicken sausage quartered and sliced instead of crumbling. Very filling with lots of meat. I didn't use the chiles. The oregano was a great addition! Don't omit. great flavor burst.
LOVED this! I used mezzi rigatoni because it doesn't take quite as long to cook. Also used chili powder because I didn't have any fresh peppers. This is a keeper. Can't wait to try different variations.
Good, not great. Not as creamy as risotto.
This was very good but not exactly creamy. Next time I will make sure to use stock instead of broth based on other reviews that may have been the issue.
My family enjoyed this, kids rated it 9.5 and 10/10. I roasted a head of garlic and put about half of it into this recipe along with some sautéed cherry tomatoes. I still feel it is lacking something, more acid and/or spice. Maybe more lemon juice would've done the trick. I have a very similar (tasting) recipe that uses a bit of light bechamel sauce and therefore doesn't require the 40 mins of stirring to achieve the creamy texture, so I'm thinking I'll go with that when I crave a dish like this. I'm glad I tried it, though, and glad to know about this pasta method.
This was really good! I am glad I read other reviews & found out how time consuming! The others were not kidding! Luckily, I get up very early, so made it before work-when I got home, I just had to reheat & add a little more stock, cheese & oregano. My husband also loved this recipe. Next time, I will make this over the weekend.
I've made this both of the ways in the recipe and much preferred the version with the sausage and onion. It was also much easier to prepare than the one with bacon, etc... I didn't realize there was a difference between stock and broth but the stock definitely makes for a "creamier" pasta. I can't imagine why it took someone 2 1/2 hours to prepare! I doubled the recipe and it still didn't take me more than 45 minutes. The only chopping is the onion and the peppers. I used jalapenos as it was the only one my grocery store carried. I can't say enough good things about this recipe. It's simply delicious and a genius way to make pasta.
De-lish. My kids loved it (ages 12 and 13). The pasta was creamy and tasty for such few ingredients. The only down side to this recipe is stirring the pasta for 30 minutes continuous. Maybe a weekend meal.
I made this last night and it took me 2 1/2 hours. I acknowledge that I'm a slow prepper but this was ridiculous. It tastes good but I can't say that the extra effort is worth the effort.
Delicious! Yes, the it took a little time to cook the pasta, but the final product was worth it. I used chile paste for the chiles, which made that step a little easier and allowed the chile to be in nearly every bite.
I have to agree with the other reviewer who said it was good, but not worth all the time that it took to cook.
I had really high hopes for this recipe based on the reviews above. It was good, but I just didn't love it. For the amount of time and effort it took to make, the end result didn't seem worth it. It didn't seem like it had much of a sauce at all with it. I like others added spinach in at the end which was very good. Diced tomatoes might be good in it too.
I made this last night and it was delicious--a different way to prepare pasta. I was unable to find the chili pepper called for so I subbed in a red jalapeno and I also put in some fresh spinach at the end. It is a bit time consuming but the end result is worth it. I served this pasta with the Spinach Parmesan salad which is also in the same issue.
As we start the New Year and healthy living is fresh on our minds, this has got to be one of the tastiest pasta dishes I've made. It's creamy, spicy, and oh so easy to make. I used a garlic infused oil which only added wonderful garlic flavor to both the pasta and chicken sausage. This will definitely be added to my recipe rotation. My entire family enjoyed this as a Sunday dinner.
This might be the best thing I've ever made. Seriously. If I didn't make it myself, I would have SWORN there was about a stick of butter in there. So. Amazing. I subbed in pork salsiccia sausage because chicken sausage is kinda expensive, and I also didn't remove the sausage before doing the stirring thing. It came out juuuuuuust fine.
Made this tonight and my husband and kids (ages 9 and 6) all gave this 5/5 stars! Made it with sweet italian pork sausage because my store was out of chicken and turkey, used whole wheat penne and even snuck baby spinach in at the end until it wilted. Absolutely delicious and worth the time at the stove. My husband asked me to always use this method for pasta from now on!
HOLY COW! This is quite possibly the best pasta recipe I've ever had. So deliciously creamy and yummy--even if you mess up and forget to remove the sausage from the pan. I subbed homemade turkey stock and used asiago pepper chicken sausages with whole wheat pasta.
