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Asparagus and Sausage Bucatini


  • Author: Kelly Djalali

Ingredients

1 lb. Hot Italian Sausage

1 Bunch Asparagus, sliced into bite-size pieces, on the bias

1 small Yellow Onion, diced

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

3 tbsp. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, for the pasta water

1 lb. Bucatini Pasta

1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, plus more for garnish

Chopped Calabrian Peppers, optional topping


Instructions

Get a large pot of about 3 quarts of water set to boil, covered, over medium-high heat.

Brown the sausage over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottom pot. Break it up as it cooks.

Once the sausage is cooked through, add the veggies and reduce the heat to medium. Sauté until the veggies are lightly tender. Add 3 tablespoons of Diamond kosher salt to the pot of boiling water. Then add the pasta. Cook the pasta while stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes or until the pasta is on the firmer side of al dente. 

Use tongs to transfer the pasta to the sausage and veggie mixture. Add about ¾ cup of the pasta water, then one cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Stir the noodles into the sausage and the veggies vigorously to emulsify the cheese and accumulated sausage fat into the pasta water to create a smooth sauce. Add more pasta water as needed to keep the light sauce smooth. 

Top servings with more grated Parmesan cheese and chopped Calabrian peppers, if using.