Early Spring Pasta

I was so excited to make this rich pasta dish- sausage, shallots and cream?  Yes, please!  I adapted it from a recipe found in Palo Alto's very snooty Junior League cookbook- "A Private Collection".  Fancy, no?  Another goodie from the stash given to me by a family friend.

Anyway, I'm all fired up about my fancy fattening pasta when Morgan strolls by, glances at the stove, and remarks "That looks like hamburger helper! Yum!"

I could have killed him.  

In his defense, in Morgan world, hamburger helper is quite the compliment.  Once he tasted this though, his reaction and subsequent helpings alleviated my pain from his earlier gaffe.

I added the veggies to the recipe to make it a one dish meal, include a bit of nutrition, and cut the richness a tad.  A green salad and good Italian bread would be excellent additions. 

Ingredients:
2 large chopped shallots
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 lb. bratwurst (or other mild pork sausage with NO fennel) skinned and crumbled
1.5 cups heavy cream
freshly ground pepper
nutmeg
1 lb campanelle pasta (or other small shells)
12-16 oz  baby spinach
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Sauté the shallots in a medium saucepan in the butter and oil on medium heat until they are soft- about 5 to 10 minutes.

Add the sausage and cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until the sausage is no longer pink.

Add the cream and freshly ground pepper to taste.  Increase the heat to medium high and cook, stirring frequently until the cream has thickened.  Add a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Cook the pasta according to its directions.  Drain well- toss to make sure the shells are empty of any leftover water.

Combine the pasta with the sauce.  Option 1- serve on a bed of baby spinach (the heat from the sauce will wilt the spinach).   Option 2- mix in the baby spinach with the sauce and pasta.

 Top with cherry tomatoes and fresh Parmesan.

I ate the leftovers with the spinach mixed in, and prefer that option, but the bed of spinach is very pretty and befitting a snoo-snoo exclusive cookbook named "A Private Collection".  Thanks Palo Alto Junior League!

Note- I changed the sausage type (luganega not being available in this neck of the woods) and type of shells (conchiglie).  I told y'all it was fancy.