Pulled from Pinterest – Saucy Italian “Drunken” Noodles

I decided that it was time I tried a few of the recipes I’ve pinned on Pinterest. I tried Saucy Italian “Drunken” Noodles from the Cozy Apron last night. First off let me say that it was her photo of the dish that caught my eye first. The picture alone really made my mouth water and made me want to make this dish. The ingredient list helped. What could be bad about pasta, Italian sausage, peppers, onions and tomatoes, right? Absolutely nothing!

It was easy to make. It tasted great, but I have to admit that my son and I thought it wasn’t all that different from my sausage and peppers with pasta I already make. So I guess it wasn’t really something new after all.

I didn’t have the Pappardelle noodles the recipe called for so went with a favorite of mine, farfalle or more commonly known as bow ties. I also used bulk Italian sausage instead of sausage in the casing. My favorite is Johnsonville, I especially love their bratwurst.

First brown up your sausage in some oil. I left them in pretty large crumbles and only broke it up a bit. I wanted a nice bite of sausage.

After the sausage is browned nicely pull it out of the pan and let it drain a bit. Make sure to keep some of the yummy drippings from the sausage. Throw your sliced onions in the pan and saute for about 5 minutes or so, until they start getting nice and soft and golden in color. Add your seasonings. I added a bit extra dried basil just because I love the flavor. Stir it all up and then add your peppers and saute for about 2-3 minutes, until they start softening up nicely. Add your garlic. I used 5 or 6 cloves, you can never have too much garlic in my opinion and, hey, they were small cloves!

Now it’s time to add in the white wine and let it reduce down to almost nothing. Mmmmm, this is smelling so good! After the wine has reduced down add your tomatoes and mix it all up. Add your browned sausage and let it simmer on medium heat for 4-5 minutes or so. It really doesn’t need a lot of simmering time, but just enough to get all those flavors of to meld together. I just keep testing the flavor until I like where it is at. Pull it off the heat and add a few tablespoons of olive oil and stir it in well. Then add your parsley and fresh basil.

I start heating my pot of water for the noodles when I start the dish and then add the noodles to the water after I add the wine to the pan. By the time the meat and veggie sauce is done, so are the noodles. Drain the noodles and add them to the meat mixture in the pan. Gently fold everything together.

To serve add a little of the reserved basil and some grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Here’s the recipe adapted from The Cozy Apron, Saucy Italian Drunken Noodles.

Pasta with Italian Sausage, Peppers and Onions

(Serves 4)

Olive oil
1 lb bulk Italian sausage, crumbled
1 large onion, quartered and sliced thinly
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
1 orange bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
½ cup white wine
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, julienned, divided use
8 ounces farfalle (bow tie) noodles, uncooked
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Place a large, heavy-bottom pan over medium-high heat; add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, place the crumbled sausage in pan and brown until it is no longer pink. About 10 minutes. Remove sausage from pan and drain, make sure to reserve drippings. Using the drippings and extra olive oil as necessary, place the onions in the pan and saute until soft and golden in color, about 5 minutes. After onions are golden in color, add the spices. Stir until combined and then add the peppers and cook until slightly tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the white wine and reduce until the wine has almost evaporated completely. Add in the diced tomatoes with the juice and stir completely. Fold in the browned sausage. Simmer on medium heat for about 5-10 minutes. Check your seasoning, add more as necessary. To finish the sauce, drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and stir to create a nice smooth sauce. Add in the chopped parsley and about half of the basil. Stir and keep warm until pasta is cooked.

For pasta heat a large pot of boiling, salted water. Add pasta and cook until done. Remember, al dente, a nice firm bite. Not too hard and not too soft. When pasta is done drain completely and add to the sauce mixture. Gently toss pasta and sauce until pasta is coated.

Garnish with remaining basil and Parmesan cheese if desired.