Italian Sausage With Bow Ties

Week 401. Year 8. Tommy is 41. Back to school. The annual transition. Rémy (12) in school, cooking and fishing. Colette (15) in high school, painting. The dinner table conversation getting deeper as the kids get older and the topics shift from homework to life and the shift is the growth and the growth is the point.

Made venison chili this week — the kind of food that fills the house with the smell of Louisiana and the knowledge that whoever walks through the door is walking into a home where the stove is on and the food is ready and the welcome is unconditional. The meal was the day. The day was the meal. Both were good. The bayou runs on.

Venison chili is the soul of this week, but it’s not always in the freezer — and when the kids walk through the door hungry and the conversation is already going, you need something that comes together fast and still fills the room with that same unconditional warmth. Italian sausage with bow ties has been that recipe for us: savory, satisfying, and just familiar enough to settle everyone down at the table. It carries the same fall energy as a long-simmered chili, just with a little less waiting and a lot of the same comfort.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb Italian sausage (mild or hot), casings removed
12 oz bow tie pasta (farfalle)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup heavy cream
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook bow tie pasta according to package directions until al dente, about 10–12 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain and set aside.
Brown the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until browned and cooked through, about 7–8 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate and drain excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.
Sauté the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion to the skillet and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute more, until fragrant.
Build the sauce. Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juices, basil, and oregano. Let simmer for 5 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the cream. Pour in the heavy cream and return the sausage to the skillet. Stir to combine and simmer gently for 3–4 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of reserved pasta water.
Combine and finish. Add the drained bow ties to the skillet and toss to coat everything evenly in the sauce. Stir in the Parmesan and let it melt into the sauce over low heat for 1–2 minutes.
Serve. Plate the pasta and top with fresh parsley and extra Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Italian Sausage With Bow Ties — The Kind of Meal That Says the Stove Is On and You’re Home