This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Berkeley chapter.
I know we’ve all come home from a long day of work and classes, practically dragging ourselves through our front door. You’re exhausted, both mentally and physically. All you’ve had the entire day is an iced coffee with a side of vape and maybe some chips. The last thing you want to do is cook a fancy dinner, let alone research a recipe. So, here I am, saving your ass once again with one VERY SIMPLE recipe for all the pasta lovers out there.
Pesto Pasta with Mushrooms and Sausage (15-20 minutes)
Makes 3 servings, Nut-free
Ingredients:
- 2 sausage links (garlic herb is my favorite, but any Italian sausage would work just as well!)
- 16 oz of pasta noodles (1 package from Trader Joe’s)
- 5-7 white mushrooms (washed and rinsed)
- 5 cups of spinach leaves
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 6-9 leaves of basil (you can always add more, based on your taste for basil)
- ½ cup of ricotta cheese
- Parmesan cheese (for topping)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
Kitchen Gadgets needed:
- Blender
- Frying pan
- Pot
- Pasta drainer
Instructions:
- Start by boiling your pasta noodles until they’re al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, add the spinach, olive oil, garlic, ricotta, basil, salt, and pepper to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Once the sauce is completely blended, start cutting the sausage links into smaller pieces. Throw the sausage pieces into a pan, and fry over medium heat.
- Slice mushrooms into bite-sized pieces and throw them into the same pan with the sausage.
- Once the mushrooms and sausage have a golden-brown color, add the pasta sauce from the blender to the same pan.
- Wait until the sauce thickens a little bit (3-6 min). Add ¼ cup of the pasta water from the cooked noodles into the sauce. Stir until homogeneous.
- Grate parmesan cheese over the pasta (to your personal preference) and stir until all combined.
- Plate and enjoy! Top with grated parmesan, salt, and/or pepper if you want.