Foodie Blogroll

Monday, April 11, 2011

Whole-Wheat Penne with Sausage, Chard, & Artichoke Hearts

It was my turn to pick what we all were going to make for Martha Mondays. This is always a dilemma for me, because I want to choose something different, yet something that people will like, something with some different or new ingredients, yet in season and ingredients that everyone will be able to find, something not too expensive, yet festive....you know what I'm getting at.
So I thought I would search for Martha Stewart's healthy Spring recipes, and found quite a few that I would like to go back and try. I narrowed it down to two and Brette wouldn't let me do this again, as I was forced to choose one. So I chose this one because I had whole-wheat penne already and wanted to find something to use it in. I was a little hesitant of using the whole-wheat pasta because I've had it before and really didn't care for it. But in this dish it turned out great, very tasty. My pick: Whole-Wheat Penne with Sausage, Chard and Artichoke Hearts.


I use greens a lot and try to add them to noodles, rice, mashed potatoes...it's a great way to sneak in those veggies when you can. Swiss Chard is treated like two separate vegetables, the stem is sliced and cooked until tender first, the green leafy parts is added later and cooked less time.


I couldn't find frozen artichoke hearts so I used tinned, but not marinated so they weren't vinegary.


I also used grape tomatoes in place of sun-dried tomatoes...just because my husband doesn't care for the sun dried ones. I think the sun dried tomatoes would of worked better.

I went to my favorite meat market, Geier's Sausage Kitchen for the chicken sausage. I really didn't know where else to get fresh chicken sausage that you can take out of the casing to fry up. I'm sure you can use different sausage if you can't find chicken sausage. I cooked up the sausage first, then set it aside in the frige so we could catch the sunset....


When we got back I started the pasta and sauteed the chard stem, garlic, hearts...if using grape tomatoes toss them in near the end with the parmesan and chard leaves, I added them too soon.
oops I almost forgot the leaves,....

I didn't use red pepper flakes but a teaspoon of spicy garlic-chili sauce with the tomato paste, which gave it the same little heat now and then but it was not too hot at all. I added a splash of cream to cut the heat for Maranda. I used about a half cup pre-grated parmesan and then added some fresh grated on top!

It was good and everybody liked it. For lunch today it heated up well and tasted just as good!

The weather has been fantastic and we have to get out and enjoy it, even though it's still a little bit busy with spring break and tourists

Don't worry he's not starving! But he did have to stay home this time when we went to the beach for sunset.

Ingredients:
Coarse salt and black pepper
12 ounces whole-wheat penne
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 pound chicken sausage, removed from casing
1 bunch Swiss chard (about 1 pound) cleaned, stems and leaves separated and chopped
1 (9-ounce) box frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 cup grated Parmesan (about 2 ounces), plus more for serving
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:
1.Set a large pot of salted water to boil for pasta. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking sausage into pieces, until cooked through and lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
2.Add remaining oil, chard stems, artichoke hearts, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook until chard stems soften slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chard leaves and cook, stirring, until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3.Add pasta to boiling water; cook until 2 minutes short of al dente. Add sun-dried tomatoes and cook 2 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain pasta; return to pot.
4.Pour half of reserved pasta water into a small bowl. Add tomato paste and whisk to combine. Add tomato paste mixture, sausage mixture, Parmesan, basil, and red pepper flakes to pasta in pot. Toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. . Read more at Wholeliving.com: Whole-Wheat Penne with Sausage, Chard, and Artichoke Hearts
Happy Monday! Please visit some other who joined us this week:


Megan at Megan's Cookin
Brette at Martha and Me

I'll add more when they post their version! Thanks for stopping by...

20 comments:

  1. I really do want to try this. When my husband comes home from his conference (in hot, sunny Florida!) I'll put it on the menu. We can get fresh chicken sausages at our Whole Foods but I don't know who else might sell them. Thanks for picking something healthy. I can't wait to try it. Maybe I'll blog about when I do :)

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  2. Such pretty photos! And great pick - I love everything about this pasta! I try to do the same - sneak in the veggies.

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  3. I'd make this...sounds good...except I don't like whole wheat pasta...but that's an easy fix.

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  4. Thanks for such a great pick! It was fun using a veggie that I have never even bought before and everyone loved it!
    Nice sunset. Summer vacation is almost here! ;)

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  5. wow..what a lovely pasta...I just loved all the flavors going in !

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  6. I'm so pleaesd that you enjoyed it Lyndsey. I did do pasta with sausage and spinach on Sunday but I made so many changes I couldn't blog it. I will be hunting out chard though - everyone seems to have enjoyed it.

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  7. That's a great pick! The dish sounds delicious and healthy. I should but seldom cook with Swiss chard. I will have to experiment with it a little more.

    Lovely sunset picture! Thanks for sharing.

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  8. I wish I could take a break from cooking to watch such a gorgeous sunset! :) This pasta looks delicious.

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  9. Hi Lyndsey, about Lo Mai Kai, actually there is not necessary to have a bowl with cover. If no cover, just make sure the steaming water did not drip on Lo Mai Kai.You can also use a big shallow dish plate to make this. Your Penne look very good and comfort.

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  10. Lindsey, love your delicious healthy pasta. Wish you can share some with me...hehee..
    I love the last picture, lovely sunset :)

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  11. Delicious pasta ! I recently discovered artichoke hearts in pasta and loved it. Can't think of a better meal with a good glass of vino!

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  12. Sounds like a yummy pasta with chard and artichoke hearts!

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  13. What breathtaking sunset photos! I too love to add greens to my food. Sometimes when I have no greens at home, I even use spring onions to the pasta....just want to see some green :-))
    Your pasta looks so good with chard!

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  14. I love love love chard. So much and this looks like a really fantastic way to use it. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Love your photos Lyndsey and I'm so jealous of you with the beach, water and beautiful sunsets. Love chard and your dish, it looks delicious! And your dog is adorable; he has to be a great buddy!!!

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  16. Swiss chard! I thought it was rhubarb. They look very much the same. Yeah, it's spring in US. How fun! Soon, you'll enjoy all kinds of fresh berries & more fruits on the way.
    Kristy

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  17. A perfect pasta dish! Bright flavors, a perfectly blanaced meal-in-one. I think you've inspired some yummy dinner notions for us!

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  18. My favorite thing about this dish is the addition of chard. Such a delicious leafy green...yum!

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  19. That sounds so tasty! Easily adaptable into a full vegetarian meal too, perfect!

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