Johnsonville® Sausage Bowtie Pasta -- The Fire That Doesn’t Go Out

March in Memphis, and the city has turned its attention to fall — the leaves changing along my retired from the Postal Service, walking the neighborhood by choice instead of duty, the air carrying that crispness that makes a man want to light a fire and stand next to it. I am 61, and this week the fire I stood next to was Uncle Clyde\'s smoker, and the standing was its own kind of prayer.

The week\'s main current was year 4 ends. Walter Jr. came by the house this week, bringing the energy he always brings — steady, organized, the FedEx man\'s approach to family visits: arrive on time, deliver what\'s needed, check that everything\'s in order. Rosetta orchestrated the visit the way she orchestrates everything: with the invisible precision of a woman who has been managing a household, a hospital floor, and a husband for three and a half decades, and who considers all three jobs equally challenging and equally rewarding.

I baked Mama\'s sweet potato pie — or rather, I supervised while Rosetta baked it, because the pie is Rosetta\'s now, passed from Pearlie Mae\'s hands to hers, the recipe traveling through time the way love travels through families: imperfectly, beautifully, with the understanding that the next version will be slightly different from the last but the essence will hold. Sweet potatoes boiled and mashed, mixed with sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and the eggs that bind everything together, poured into a crust and baked until the center jiggles — Mama\'s jiggle, the diagnostic test of the pie, the moment when you know it\'s done without a thermometer or a timer, just the knowing.

I went to bed thinking about the people I love and the food I\'ve made and the fire that doesn\'t go out. The fire is the constant. The fire is the inheritance that Uncle Clyde gave me and that I am passing forward, spark by spark, cook by cook, to whoever has the patience to stand next to me and learn. The fire doesn\'t care about my knee or my blood pressure or the fact that the world is changing in ways I don\'t always understand. The fire just burns. And I tend it. And the tending is the living.

With Walter Jr. home and Rosetta’s sweet potato pie cooling on the counter, I still needed something on the stove — something with a little smoke and weight to it, something that honored the fire Uncle Clyde lit in me all those years ago. Johnsonville sausage bowtie pasta is exactly that kind of meal: quick enough that it doesn’t pull you away from your company, hearty enough that nobody leaves the table hungry, and smoky enough to make you feel like you’re standing next to something worth tending.

Johnsonville® Sausage Bowtie Pasta

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

Ingredients

• 1 package (13.5 oz) Johnsonville® Smoked Sausage Links, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
• 12 oz bowtie (farfalle) pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook bowtie pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Brown the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced sausage rounds in a single layer and cook 3–4 minutes per side until nicely browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pan.
3. Soften the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion to the same skillet and cook 4–5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook another 60 seconds until fragrant.
4. Build the sauce. Stir in the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and smoked paprika. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces slightly.
5. Add the cream. Pour in the heavy cream and stir to combine. Return the browned sausage to the skillet and simmer 3–4 minutes more until everything is heated through and the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
6. Combine and finish. Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss until every bowtie is coated in the sauce. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
7. Serve. Divide into bowls and top with shredded Parmesan and fresh parsley if using. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 22g | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 48g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 940mg