Happy Monday! I’ve got a fun recipe for you today. It’s a classic Penne Pasta with spicy Italian sausage in a rich marinara sauce, but, the twist is, you’re only going to cook the pasta in a little bit of water and you’re not going to have to strain the pasta at all. The penne will also be perfectly al dente (a fancy Italian word meaning to the tooth a.k.a. not at all mushy).
What’s that you say? I know, how can this be? Sounds a little weird, but believe it or not, it’s going to absorb all the water and cook perfectly.
I saw this on Giada a few months back and she actually learned this technique from the master himself, Alton Brown.
It was my first attempt at it, and I don’t know that I’ll ever cook this type of pasta dish any other way again! I’ve only tried it with penne so far, but I plan on experimenting with other types of pasta.
Here’s how to do it!
Remove the casings from 2 Italian Sausage links. Break up with a wooden spoon and heat in a skillet until fully cooked.
Add in 1″ of water to a high sided skillet. I used a 10″ skillet, so this was about 4 cups of water. Next, sprinkle in 2 teaspoons of salt into your boiling pasta water. Make sure not to over salt it as the water will evaporate and you don’t want your pasta to taste too salty.
Pour in the pasta.
Cook for about 9 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just about all the water has evaporated from the pan.
Grab your favorite jar of Marinara Sauce.
This is what it will look like when it’s done, just a few bubbles on the bottom of the pan.
Now it’s time to pour in your sauce…
…and your cooked sausage. Turn the heat off in the pan.
Mix it all together. The sauce is really going to absorb into the noodles.
Scoop in your favorite pasta bowl and top with freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
Buon Appetito!
- 4 cups of water
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 lb. Penne Pasta
- 1 jar (25 ounces) of your favorite Pasta Sauce
- 2 Italian Sausage links
- ¼ cup of freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
- Add in 1" of water to a high sided skillet. I used a 10" skillet, so this was about 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
- Remove the casings from 2 Italian Sausage links. Break up with a wooden spoon and heat in a skillet until fully cooked.
- Sprinkle in 2 teaspoons of salt into your boiling pasta water.
- Add in penne to boiling salted water. Cook for about 9 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just about all the water has evaporated from the pan.
- Pour in the jarred sauce and add in sausage crumbles. Turn the heat off to the pan.
- Mix all together.
- Sprinkle right over the top of the pan or bowl, freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese.
I love everything from cake to kale. Life is all about balance. I like to live, laugh and love to the fullest! Our time is too short not to enjoy ourselves.
Hi Sarah, love it! We have some type of pasta at least once a week here! Hope you have a great week! Your Florida BB, Cheryl.
I think we do too 🙂 Thanks!
Mmmmmm, looks so yummy!
Thanks Cris!
Omg! This is awesome! I’m totally trying this out, thanks Sarah! PINNED!
Thanks! Let me know how you like it 🙂
Wow, I never knew you could do this! I’m going to make this next week.
Neither did I! Super easy and your pasta will be perfect!
Nice recipe Sarah 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Oh my… just look at your penne pasta. I haven’t had penne in such a long time. Definitely have to pick up some and try this recipe
Thank you! You must give this a try!
The pasta looks delicious – I’ve read about this method a few times recently but still haven’t tried it. It’s definitely something I want to do soon.
Do it! You won’t be sorry 🙂