sausage linguine

(with dollop of ricotta cheese prior to stirring it in)

so kelly - have you abandoned our cooking blog or do you not cook anymore?

this recipe was a hit with my whole family. I got it from my friend Anneli. I loved it because it called for all FRESH ingredients.

Ingredients:
Salt
1 pound linguini orwhole wheat linguini (I used a basil linguini)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 pound Italian sausage, sweet or hot

1 red chili pepper, very thinly sliced (I used a red bell pepper because I had it, tasted great)
3 large cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
2 bundles arugula or1/3 pound baby arugula
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup cream (optional) (I substituted with less than a half cup of whole milk, which I had)
1 cup mascarpone or ricotta cheese (optional)

PREPARATION

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt the water and cook the pasta to al dente, reserving about 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water just before draining.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with EVOO, one turn of the pan. To the hot pan, add the sausage and brown and crumble it for 5 minutes. Add the chili pepper and garlic and toss for 1-2 minutes.

Add the cherry tomatoes and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid to burst the tomatoes, 8-10 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally to move the tomatoes around a bit. When the skins start to burst, crack the softened tomatoes open with a cooking utensil.

Drain the pasta (remember to reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water) and toss it with the sausage, arugula and most of the starchy water, then season with salt and pepper, to taste. If you are using cream, toss the pasta for an additional minute to heat the cream through. If the sauce gets too tight, loosen it up with any remaining starchy water.If you are serving the pasta with mascarpone or ricotta, place a dollop on top of each serving for mixing in.

I used ricotta cheese because I thought since when is cheese optional? It did taste great with the cheese, but it tasted great without it too. So if you don't want the extra calories - or don't want to buy a tub of ricotta cheese (any ideas of what i can make with my extra ricotta?) this dish has plenty of flavor without it.