Time: 45 mins
Serves: 5
Price: $$
At this time of year it’s always handy to have a really quick meal to whip up mid week that’ll get you tucked up and cosy asap! This pesto pasta is a speedy, versatile and delicious option that everyone will enjoy, and maybe even leave leftovers for lunch.
Ingredients
- Oil
- Salt & Pepper
- 8 sausages, vegetarian or meat (try to go for something nicer than a pre-cooked sausage here – something beef, pork, or Italian style would work well!)
- 1 onion (diced)
- 3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- 135 g basil pesto
- 300 mL cream
- 1 vegetable or chicken stock cube
- 120 g baby spinach
- 500 g pasta (a shape like penne, spirals or elbows works well)
- Grated cheese
Method
- Begin by placing a large pot over medium heat with a little bit of oil in the bottom.
- Remove the casing from the sausages, and add small meatball amounts of sausage into the pot to brown. Cook for approx. 5 mins on each side of the meatball until crispy and mostly cooked through. You may need to do this in a couple of batches. Once cooked, remove the mini meatballs from the pot and place aside.
- Place your pasta on to cook in a large pot of boiling water.
- In the same pan, pour a little more oil if you need and add the diced onion. Cook for 10 mins until the onions are softened, and then add the garlic and a pinch of salt and some pepper. Cook for a further 3 mins or until fragrant.
- Drain your pasta when cooked, saving 1 ½ cups of the pasta water for the sauce.
- To pot the sausages were in, add the pesto, cream and a cup of the pasta water mixed with the stock cube. Simmer gently for 5 mins.
- Add the mini meatballs back into the pot with the pesto-cream sauce, and cover with a lid, cooking on low for a further 15 mins.
- Add in the baby spinach and cooked pasta, plus an additional ½ cup of pasta water. Mix until combined and allow to sit over the low heat for 3 mins until the spinach is wilted.
Serve up with some parmesan or grated cheese and enjoy a tasty dinner!