Grilled Onion and Sausage Pasta

Noodles are one of my favorites.  Along with bread, chocolate, fruit, garlic, onion, corn, cobbler, wine, flavored vodka,... okay, I have a lot of favorites.  But when I see a pasta dish combined with onions and sausages, I usually give it a closer look.  This recipe seemed fairly straightforward and came from the 30-Minute Suppers Summer 2011 magazine by America's Test Kitchen.  So I figured it would also be fairly quick.

Turned out 'quick' isn't exactly how I'd describe it.  Their instructions of splitting the sausages lengthwise and then cutting in half lengthwise was a total disastrous mess.  Could have been the sausages I used, or the multiple knives I tried.  So in the end I had to cook the sausages whole and then continue on with the directions.  Not the end of the world, but still annoying.

Grilling up the sausages and onions on the stove.

And stirring the cream in to the tomatoes.  I love the way cream looks when you add to warm sauces.

The finished chopped sausage, onion and tomato mixture before I added the penne.

I will make this again even with the sausage fiasco. The kids weren't big on this dinner, but the adults thought it had good flavor and a good change from a basic spaghetti and meatsauce type meal.

Grilled Onion and Sausage Pasta, courtesy of 30-Minute Suppers Summer 20111 red onion, peeled and sliced in to 1/2" rounds
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt/pepper
12oz smoked sausage, split lengthwise
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 lb penne
1/4c. chopped fresh basil

While you heat water to a boil for pasta, brush onions with 1Tbsp oil and season wiht salt and pepper.  Grill onion an sausage over hot fire until lightly charred, 3-5 minutes per side.  Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, an set aside.

Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in diced tomatoes and 1/4tsp salt cook until tomatoes begin to break down, 5-7 minutes.  Stir in cream and continue to cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add penne and 1 Tbsp salt to boiling water and cook until al dente.  Reserve 1/2c. cooking water, drain penne, and return penne to pot.  Stir in sauce mixture and basil, adding reserved cooking water as needed.  Roughly chop onions and sausage and add to pot along with any accumulated juices.  Season with salt and pepper. Serve.