Looking for smoked sausage recipes for an easy and quick summer meal? I have just the one for you! With low prep, little time in the kitchen and a dish bursting with flavor, you’ll have more time to savor your summer.
I love it when I find a recipe that’s quick to prepare and satisfies everyone in my family, don’t you? One of our favorite family meals is this Smoked Sausage, Broccoli and Pasta recipe. I’ve made it quite a bit over the years and have used just about every kind of sausage you can imagine. So when Aidells® Sausage asked me to try out their sausage in a recipe, I knew just the one I wanted to share with you.
In the summer I have a rule when it comes to the kitchen. I like to be in it as least as possible. Less time in the kitchen means more time around the dinner table with my family. When I have a plate of pasta in front of me and a glass of wine like The Wine Group’s Trapiche Malbec, time slips away and I’m okay with that. The night I made this dish, as I was finishing up my meal I looked at the clock and realized it was almost 8 pm. During the school year, dinner is finished and the kitchen is clean by 8 pm. But summer calls for taking more time to savor my meal and the company around me.
Smoked Sausage, Broccoli & Pasta Recipe
There are a few things about this recipe I like, besides the incredible taste. You only need two pans to make it: one to cook the pasta and broccoli (yes, they’re cooked together) and one to cook the sausage and sauce. I also like the fact that it doesn’t include a long list of ingredients. Between the fresh garlic, lemon juice and zest and incredible flavor from the Aidells sausage, this dish is absolutely bursting with flavor.
Here’s how to make it.
Step one: Gather all of your ingredients.
I like to gather all of my ingredients together in one place before I even start the dish. This keeps me organized and helps my time in the kitchen go quicker. If while you’re preparing a meal you’re going back and forth between the pantry, refrigerator and stove – that’s just asking for a stressful time! So, gather up everything you need before you begin cooking.
Step two: Start the water for the pasta and broccoli. While the water is coming to a boil, slice the sausage into rounds, cut the broccoli into bite size pieces, mince the garlic, zest and juice the lemon and prepare the sauce.
Step three: When the water comes to a boil, pour in the pasta and set the timer for 2 minutes less than the required cooking time. Why? Because you’re going to put the broccoli in the boiling water with the pasta two minutes before the pasta is done. The broccoli will turn a beautiful shade of green in the water and it will cook up perfectly. You don’t want it mushy, but instead crisp tender.
Step four: While the pasta is boiling, add your olive oil sauce to a large pan and heat it up, cooking the garlic in the olive oil sauce for about one minute. Do not let the garlic burn! After the sauce has heated up and the garlic has gotten soft, add your Aidells sausage rounds.
Have you heard of Aidells sausages? Well let me tell you it is worth buying and cooking up some tasty summer dishes with. Each sausage is made with naturally smoked, all-natural chicken, real fruits & vegetables, and herbs & lively spices. Plus it’s gluten free, contains no nitrates or added hormones and it’s ready in just 8 to 10 minutes whether you sauté or grill it. I was so impressed with the flavor, that I plan on picking up even more of these from our local RANDALL’S grocery store. This is one of those ingredients to always have on hand in order to whip up some flavorful meals.
Step five: After the pasta and broccoli are done and drained, and the sausages are cooked just until browned, it’s time to throw it all together. Add the pasta, broccoli and 1 cup reserved pasta water to the skillet with the sausage and olive oil mixture.
Step six: While all of the flavors are mixing together in the skillet, grate some fresh Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the top after you plate it. I really, really (really) recommend spending the little bit extra on the Parmesan block as opposed to the kind that comes in a can already grated. It truly makes a difference in the flavor!
Serve this dish with a nice red wine, like a Trapiche Malbec (also purchased at our local RANDALL’S), and you have a complete, beautiful and flavorful meal.
I really enjoyed the Trapiche wine. It’s from Argentina and has a very smooth flavor. It’s been awhile since I’ve purchased a Malbec and I’ve been missing out! There’s something about a glass of wine shared with my husband at dinner that makes us sit back, and really savor the moment just a little bit longer. We find ourselves spending more time on our meal and really enjoying it. As well as soaking up the conversation.
How do you savor your summer? Is it over a long, relaxed meal shared with your family? Or maybe time spent at the pool watching your kiddos embrace the heat? Or maybe over a glass of wine shared with your significant other?
Enjoy this printable recipe and be sure to let me know if you try it, or Aidells Sausage and Trapiche wines.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Aidells® & The Wine Group. The opinions and text are all mine.