Tri-Colored Pasta with Lamb Sausage Two Ways

On our last visit to the farmer's market we came across the booth for Catskill Merino Lamb which was sampling some of their lamb sausage. It was so good we had to pick up a package to cook at home. It was richer and a little sweeter than pork sausage, and much less greasy and fatty to boot!

We looked around for what else was available fresh and found some nice looking mushrooms, as well as a booth selling freshly made pasta. All together we had the beginnings of a delicious meal. We really wanted to be able to serve this all over some nice creamy ricotta, but unfortunately all of the dairy farmers were sold out of the stuff - apparently we weren't the only one's with the ricotta craving that day!

It was me, I ate all the ricotta, now I am verrry tired.

In any case, even without the ricotta this sauce with lamb sausage two ways was wonderful, so we wanted to share the recipe with all of you to enjoy.

Making the Dish

Fresh tricolored pasta shells from the farmer's market.

This is a very easy dish to prepare, it just takes a little bit of patience to get it tasting just right. The crumbled sausage, onions, and mushrooms are added to a marinara sauce enhanced with basil and red wine. Then the whole sausages are braised in the simmering sauce, imparting their flavor onto one another for a fantastic outcome.

Red onion and mushroom diced up and ready to go.

To start, remove the sausage from the casing of one of the sausage links, dice up the portobello caps, slice the garlic and onion, and chiffonade the basil.

Sautéing onions and portobellos.

In a non-stick pan, heat a bit of olive oil over medium heat and then add in the portobellos and the onion. As the portobellos start to exude some of their liquid, add in the garlic and sausage and turn up the heat a bit.

Browning the lamb sausage with the cooking onions and portobellos. Some real nice caramelization going on.

Season gently with salt and pepper, and then toss everything around to crumble the sausage and get everything nice and cooked. Cook until the sausage is nicely crisped, and the onion has softened nicely. Remove this from the pan and let drain on a paper towel.

The soul of our sauce, draining on a paper towel.

Meanwhile, get heat up your basic tomato sauce. You can make this ahead of time or use a jar - but if you use a jar make sure it is a good quality sauce. Add your basil and a half cup of wine to about 4 cups of the sauce.

Adding basil, pepper, and wine to the tomato sauce. Smells delicious.

Season a bit with extra pepper and salt if needed, and add in a dash of cayenne pepper as well. Let this simmer for about 10 minutes so the favors can incorporate, and then taste to make sure the seasonings are right on.

The mushrooms, sausage, and onions are added to our basil marinara.

Add the cooked sausage, mushroom, and onion into the sauce and stir around so it is thoroughly incorporated. Then, add in the whole sausage links and submerge completely. Bring the sauce back to a boil, and then cover and reduce the heat. Cook for about 30 - 45 minutes over a simmer. This should be plenty of time for the sausage to cook, and the sauce will be deliciously flavored after all the cooking is complete.

The lamb sausage links are added in and submerged.

Remove the whole sausage links from the sauce and slice them on the diagonal into half inch slices.

Slicing the braised lamb sausage.

While you're doing this, cook your pasta to about 1 minute shy of the package directions, and then add the pasta directly into the sauce, toss together and cook for a minute more over high heat to let the sauce and pasta marry together.

Pasta and sauce cook together.

Serve the pasta in a warm bowl and top with the sliced sausage and extra sauce if desired. Garnish with grated pecorino romano cheese.

The Result

It's a very simple dish to prepare but the flavor of the lamb sausage that has absorbed the flavor of the sauce, and the flavor of the long cooked sauce, is outstanding. It is slightly sweet, savory, and addicting to eat. This is a really enjoyable dish!

The same technique could be used for really any kind of sausage, but the lamb sausage here is really standout and works really well in the braise thanks to the way the flavor of the lamb is complemented by the tomato sauce. If you come across lamb sausage at your super market or in the farmer's market, pick it up and give this dish a try.

Let us know what you think in the comments!

Click through for the full ingredients list after the jump.

Pasta with Lamb Sausage Two Ways

Written by: Herbie Likes Spaghetti

A wonderful and delicious way to prepare the sweet, savory lamb sausage

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 hr

(Serves: 2-4)

1/2 pound pasta - shells or short noodles
4 cups basic tomato sauce
1/2 cup basil
1/4 cup dry red wine
3 links lamb sausage
4 portobello mushroom caps
1 small red onion
1 clove garlic
Dash cayenne
Dash salt and pepper