Who doesn't love a man in the kitchen?

So I confess Tyler actually made this meal 2 weeks ago but I've been dragging my feet about posting it. I'm not really busy...just trying to keep my mind off of food as much as I can, lol. I'm still eating and cooking though, just nothing terribly exciting. We are making 2 kinds of chili tonight, I'll share those recipes later!

We were at the City Market over Labor Day weekend and bought some fresh produce and some unique pasta at a booth that sold Pappardelle's Pasta. It took us FOREVER to decide which pasta to buy but we eventually settled on Tunisian Harissa Fettucine and Tyler was kind enough to offer to make the meal (with each pasta there is a recommended recipe that they give you). It took him 3 hours. Yeah. 3 hours. He is a bit meticulous in the kitchen, so I don't really think that's the average cooking time for this dish. Roasting the peppers was a lengthy process and since it was his first time he had to stop and look at the directions a lot. After 3 hours of cooking we ate dinner around 9 P.M.

It's a different kind of dish for me because I'm used to pasta with some kind of sauce on it. This has no sauce because the pasta itself is flavored and the meat and peppers provide the rest of the flavor. Very tasty, and perhaps a healthy-ish meal (if you use low fat sausage). Not a Core recipe though, but could be made into one with whole wheat pasta and some lean meat. We may try roasting peppers again now that we know what we're doing! We'd also be interested in buying more pasta from Pappardelle's. They had so many delicious looking flavored pastas, and I think they would make great gifts! You can even order online, something to think about as the holidays slowly creep closer.




Tunisian Harissa Pasta with Sausage, Peppers & Tomatoes

1 lb. Pappardelle’s Tunisian Harissa Pasta
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
10 oz. sweet Italian sausage, skinned/crumbled
1 each: roasted red, green and yellow peppers, peeled and cut into long strips (we followed the Food network directions found here)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until lightly golden, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and continue to sauté for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, season to taste with salt and pepper, cover skillet with lid slightly ajar, reduce heat to low and simmer until the liquid evaporates, about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.