Conchiglie with Sweet Chicken Sausage, Parmesan, and Spinach
I live for two things now that I’m in my late twenties: quick meals, and abundant leftovers.
When I was a kid, I hated leftovers, but never really understood why. The food usually looked and tasted the same, and was always on the table by 7:00 PM. I think maybe it was because at school, hot lunch options were always rotated, so you felt like you were getting a different meal every day. And as a sweet but very naive child with no comprehension of how long it might take a working mother to throw together a meal from scratch after a full day, I thought something new and different (or, at least different for the day) would be placed in front of me at home as well. Now, as an adult who’s had hectic workdays and super long commutes, I not only like leftovers, I cherish them.
This Conchiglie with Sweet Chicken Sausage, Parmesan, and Spinach, a new weeknight favorite, comes together so fast, and is the perfect two-pot meal to make for big and small families alike. If you’ve got a bigger family, there’s plenty of pasta, protein, and veggies for everyone. Or, if your family’s like mine and on the smaller side, you’ll have leftovers for days!
What I love about this pasta dish is the rich meatiness of the chicken sausage (the kind I get is beautifully pre-seasoned with sweet red peppers and fennel seeds), spiciness of the garlic, deep herbaceous flavor of the spinach, and just a hint of saltiness and cheesiness from the Parmesan cheese, which is generously sprinkled on top at the end.
Just 30 minutes is all you need to make this magical pasta dish happen. And if you don’t have conchiglie (better known as seashell pasta) in the pantry, don’t fret - boil whatever small pasta you’ve got on-hand and I promise you it’ll be golden!
Conchiglie with Sweet Chicken Sausage, Parmesan, and Spinach
What You’ll Need:
16 oz conchiglie
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1.5 ibs sweet (or mild) chicken sausage
4 tablespoons salted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
9 ounces (1 bag) fresh spinach
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Coarse kosher salt
Freshly-ground black pepper
Directions:
Cook the conchiglie according to the package instructions for al dente. Just before the timer goes off, reserve about 1 cup of pasta water. Once finished cooking, drain the conchiglie.
While the conchiglie is cooking, carefully cut the chicken sausage into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
Set a large-bottomed pot such as a dutch oven over medium heat and add the olive oil. Next, add the sausage and cook until the pieces have started to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the butter and minced garlic and stir frequently to ensure the butter melts fully and the garlic does not burn, about 1-2 minutes.
Turn the heat to medium-low, then add the spinach and 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water and stir frequently until the spinach has shrunken significantly in size, about 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the conchiglie, stirring continuously to release any steam from the spinach and to make sure the ingredients in the pot are thoroughly combined. Season with kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste.
After about five minutes, sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and serve warm.
TO STORE: Once cool, pasta can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
SOURCE Adapted from Budget Bytes.