Whole Wheat Pasta With Chicken Sausage And Portobello Tomato Sauce

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Here's another recipe that was prepared and enjoyed just prior to the flu making its dastardly visit to chez moi. Top billing is shared by two ingredients in this dish:

the fabulous organic whole durum wheat pasta "snails" produced in Italy by Bionaturae, and the delicious nitrite free California Chicken Sausage made with basil and sun-dried tomatoes by California's own Premiere Meats. Located in Mt. Shasta, this company actually started out here in Humboldt county about 10 miles from my kitchen.

Just look at these cool whole wheat pasta pouches - their little mouths eagerly agape, awaiting the saucy morsels that will tumble in. The ridges on the outside enable the sauce to adhere there as well. Called chiocciole, this organic Italian import may be purchased on line here, but I got mine at our local Co-op and am fairly sure you should be able to find it at most good organic food stores.

Portobello mushrooms, sea salt-packed capers and the usual suspects of garlic, onion, organic fire roasted tomatoes, along with white wine and a goodly portion of parmigiano reggiano give their all to this tasty sauce. You want to dice everything so that it matches or is slightly smaller than your pasta shape. This way, the sauce won't overwhelm the pasta.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Portobello Tomato Sauce
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
16 ounces Chiocciole pasta or other whole grain pasta
4 Premier Meats California Chicken sausages, diced
2 portobello mushrooms, gills removed and diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 14-ounce can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted diced tomatoes (simply the best!)
1 1/2 tablespoons salt packed capers, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups parmesan, grated
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
olive oil for the pan

Preparation:
Put on a large pot of water for the pasta over high heat. Add about 1 tablespoon kosher salt to the water and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, place a small amount of olive oil in a heavy skillet and put over medium high heat.
Add the portobellos and mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are soft, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic, give a stir and cook 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, capers and white wine. Stir again and simmer about 5 minutes or until the juices thicken slightly and everything is piping hot.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander, put it back into the cooking pot and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Give it a quick stir.
Just before serving, stir the parmesan into the sauce.
Serve on warmed plates, sprinkling each serving with the chopped parsley.

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