Sausage and Peppers One-Pot Pasta
Published September 23, 2024
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
Salt
2 large bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 pound loose raw Italian sausage
4 ½ cups chicken broth
1 pound shell pasta
4 ounces sliced provolone cheese
⅓ cup drained, chopped pickled peppers, such as cherry, banana or pepperoncini
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
71 grams carbs; 71 milligrams cholesterol; 695 calories; 14 grams monosaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 31 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 999 milligrams sodium; 30 grams protein; 10 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Warm the oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. (Keep the heat high to get some color on the onion; you are not cooking them gently.) Add the peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 2 minutes.
- Step 2
Add the sausage, and cook, breaking the meat up into crumbles with a spatula, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the pasta, stirring well. Cover the pot and bring to a boil (it will take about 5 minutes).
- Step 3
Uncover the pot and turn down the heat if necessary to maintain a brisk simmer but not a full boil. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the broth is mostly absorbed and the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. At first, you will not need to stir much, but as the liquid level gets lower, adjust the heat to medium or medium-high and stir often to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pot.
- Step 4
Turn off the heat. Tear the provolone slices into the pot and add the pickled peppers. Stir to melt the cheese and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
I'm a midwesterner, I have a very high tolerance for various slops and casseroles but I came straight here to tell you that this one is an absolute whiff. The pasta spends upwards of 15 minutes cooking, which incidentally isn't even enough to evaporate most of the broth. The result is a slurry of starch and peppers without much spice or flavor, bafflingly topped with sliced provolone cheese. It has shaken my faith in NYT Cooking at a conceptual level.
I wish we'd caught the red flags in this recipe prior to trying it out. Having the pasta sit in water as it comes to a boil, and then continue cooking in that water for 15 minutes, is overkill. It'd cook the pasta to mush. But if you cut the heat before the pasta overcooks, you're left with way too much liquid in the mix, so it's a lose-lose. The provolone was puzzling; it did nothing to enhance the dish besides thickening the soupy consistency a bit. Overall this pasta was a bland, goopy bummer
I made this tonight. Per Dan’s notes I used far less broth. I also added Italian Seasoning, garlic purée, parsley purée, and dried fennel to give it some flavor. Even with these edits, I don’t think this recipe works. It’s starchy and greasy. If I tried this again, I would cook and drain the pasta separately, same thing with the sausage, and then assemble the pasta, sausage, onion / pepper mixture, and cheese. It’s better to make sausage and pepper subs.
A surprisingly quick and tasty supper with slow-cooked flavor. The secret is in the stock. See sidebar below. Luckily, I DID NOT read the negative comments beforehand or I might not have made this delicious dish. We did not have any pepperoncini and we did tweak the recipe a little bit for our taste. I did follow the directions for the one pot and yes, it was soupy; but, the pasta (Priano brand from Aldi's) absorbed it by the next day. I used 3/4 lb hot Italian sausage and dabbed the extra grease before adding homemade chicken stock I had in the freezer. I used Trader Joe's frozen bell peppers and mushrooms. We had no pepperoncinis but used 2/3 of a jar Arrabbiata Sauce. Very hot dish, but we like spice; you could substitute mild sausage and a pesto sauce. Or use pickled jalapeno and Mexican spice. This recipe has room for versatility, all in one pot under an hour, ~ 45 minutes. Sidebar: Homemade stock adds a layer of flavor, lower sodium and a $-smart addition to culinary delights. Also, Souper cubes are excellent containers, on-the-ready to hold leftovers to freeze veggie and chicken stocks made in the Instapot (~10 mins for rough chop onion, celery, carrots, ~40 mins to cook, and time to cool.) Bon Appétit!
I approached this recipe with trepidation, but after following the suggestion of adding the pasta after the first components are boiling and cutting the liquid by half a cup, I was pleased with the results. I used pickled jalapeños which added rich flavor along with a generous amount of provolone cheese. I appreciate this lower effort weeknight dish.
I cooked this dish as the recipe called out with only one deviation: I used 4 cups of broth instead of 4.5. I cooked the noodles until all the broth evaporated, and it came out perfectly.