Macaroni with Sausage and Ricotta

Another Pinterest Find, althought the picture was odd.  Called Macaroni, their picture used what look liked linguine.  But flour and egg taste pretty much the same to me, so I let that go.

D was working late, so I decided to make this.  Of course by the time I finished cutting the onion and the garlic he was home, and took over.    Basically this is deconstructed lasagna.  It is very good, but also pretty quick.

And it uses almost all ingredients that we tend to have in the house (minus ricotta).  We had with a Caesar Salad.

Would have again.

Macaroni with Sausage and Ricotta

A bit of sausage goes a long way in flavoring the creamy ricotta tomato sauce in this healthy and quick pasta recipe. While this recipe calls for macaroni, you can make this dish with any type of tubular pasta. It’s just the thing to satisfy your craving for comfort food in a hurry.

Photo by ALB

Makes: 6 servings
Serving Size: 1 1/3 cups
Active Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons finely chopped yellow onion
Added 3 Garlic Cloves
6 ounces mild pork sausage, casings removed (used spicy)
1 14-ounce can no-salt-added whole peeled tomatoes, chopped, with their juice (used diced)
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt plus 1 tablespoon, divided
12 ounces thin tube-shaped pasta, such as pasta al ceppo
6 tablespoons part-skim ricotta cheese
10 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation
Put 2 quarts of water on to boil in a large pot.

Meanwhile, combine oil, onion and sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring and crumbling the sausage with a spoon, until the onion is golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt; cook until the tomatoes have reduced and separated from the oil, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon salt to the boiling water, stir in pasta and cook according to package instructions until just tender. Just before the pasta is done, return the sauce to medium-low heat. Add ricotta and basil and stir until combined. When the pasta is done, drain well and toss with the sauce and Parmigiano. Serve at once.

Nutrition 
Per serving: 362 calories; 12 g fat (4 g sat, 6 g mono); 16 mg cholesterol; 48 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 3 g total sugars; 15 g protein; 3 g fiber; 441 mg sodium; 276 mg potassium.

EatingWell: September/October 2014