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farfalle with luganega sausage, mushrooms and peas

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A delightful combination, and so simple to prepare, to coat the bow ties. Ideally, if you can find it, the classic Milanese or Monza pork sausage, luganega, will be ideal here

for the sauce:

five tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
two cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
one pound Luganega or other sweet Italian pork sausage, removed from the casing and chopped roughly
eight ounces white or brown mushrooms (Crimini recommended)
one 10-ounce package of frozen peas, defrosted
salt and freshly ground pepper
two tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
one tablespoon butter
one half cup freshly grated parmesan

for the pasta:

one pound of farfalle

>>one evening we were out of farfalle, and substituted rigatoncini instead. This pasta was more substantial, but it worked perfectly.

De-stem the mushrooms and slice them in thin slices.

Put two tablespoons of olive oil into a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sausage, turn the heat to medium high, and cook until starting to brown. Break up the lumps with a wooden spoon while cooking. Takes about five minutes. Set aside.

Heat two more tablespoons of olive oil in the same pan. Add the garlic and cook for sixty seconds. Add the mushrooms. Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms lose their moisture and are soft. About five minutes. Add the defrosted peas and continue cooking for another two minutes, Add a teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Return the sausage to the pan, stir, and cook another two minutes, until all the flavors are intermingled.

Meanwhile bring 4-5 quarts of water to a boil. Add two tablespoons of salt. Drop in the pasta and stir. Continue cooking until al dente. Reserve one cup of the pasta liquid. Drain.

Drain and combine with the sauce over a medium heat. Add the last tablespoon of olive oil and the tablespoon of butter and stir well. Add reserved pasta liquid if needed to keep moist. Taste for salt and pepper and serve with the freshly grated parmesan.