Penne Arrabiata with Smoked Sausage
This Italian Penne Arrabiata with smoked sausage is a quick and easy, one-pot meal. Penne pasta, smoked sausage and Kalamata olives are tossed in a rich tomato-based, spicy sauce that is well balanced with fresh parsley and basil.
Servings: 6 Servings
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dry penne pasta
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves crushed or grated
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or to your liking
- ½ cup red wine
- 2 (15 ounce) can canned diced tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 piece Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind optional
- ½ cup Kalamata olives
- 16 ounces Italian smoked sausage links sliced diagonally
- grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the penne and cook according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Drain the pasta in a colander, reserving 1/2 cup of the water. Return the pasta to the cooking pot and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Cover the pot of pasta and keep warm.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat.
- Add onions and cook 3-5 minutes until soft. Stir in the red pepper flakes and the garlic, cook for 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant.
- Pour in the wine and stir to deglaze the pan.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, sugar and the cheese rind, if using. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
- Stir in the sliced olives and smoked sausage, stirring to combine in the sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove and discard the cheese rind then stir in 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water.
- Add the cooked penne, toss to combine and heat through.
- Serve garnished with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and the chopped parsley.
Notes
- If possible, use penne rigate as it has ridges on the outside of the pasta that soak up the sauce. Regular penne is smooth and the sauce tends to slide off.
- For an extra layer of heat and spice, you can dice a fresh Serrano chili pepper and add it when you stir in the dried chili flakes.
- Garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes and peeled whole tomatoes are also traditional ingredients in this sauce.
- The tomato-based sauce takes its spiciness from red pepper flakes. It is intended to be very spicy, make adjustments according to your preferred level of heat.
- The chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rind added to the simmering sauce will add thickness and umami flavor.
- Adding a little starchy pasta water will help ‘glue’ the sauce to the pasta.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 455kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 738mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g
