Sausage and Noodles

A good quality spicy sausage on top of pasta will always have a very special place in my heart. I love the heartiness of the sausage and could eat pasta all the time. The AC could probably never eat pasta again and not even think of it, so when he indulges me with the carb-loaded delishness, I swoon.

We really like Byerly's homemade sausages and bratwurst, the spicy Italian is fairly hot and perfect for this dish. The other key to this is the wide, quality egg noodles. These are not manaschevitz egg noddles. I took a picture of the bag so you'll know what to look for. We probably got these at Byerly's, I'm not sure. You're looking for a thick width. These noodles make kick-ass buttered noodles for those of you who appreciate simplicity and the perfection of a simple noodle, just add some butter, salt and fresh grated Parmesan. There's no need for anything more. Well, maybe a bit of cayenne. But I digress.

To recreate the rustic dish pictured above, you'll need the following ingredients. 

Good quality egg noodles, 6 oz dry
2 good quality hot Italian sausage links
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered and seeded. 
1/3 c fresh, flat leaf parsely, minced
1/8 c minced fresh oregano and thyme
3 finely minced garlic cloves
1/4 tsp kachai powder (found in most Asian groceries)
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1 tsp Aleppo chile (Penzies has a great version)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

Cook sausage by boiling in a shallow pan for 10 minutes and cut each into eight pieces. Briefly saute the sausage pieces until nicely browned.  

Saute slowly the onion, garlic, 1 tbsp of the olive oil and all of the balsamic, black pepper, Aleppo and some salt, saute until it starts to caramelize.

Once the above is essentially cooked, mix in the herbs and the kachai.

Boil pasta with a little olive oil.

When cooked, drain, put back into sauce pan over med-low flame, coat the noodles with butter, add the onion mixture and tomatoes, mix thoroughly. Let it cook for about 1 minute. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Plate the pasta, add the sausage (which were kept warm in the frying pan that you used to saute the onion mix).