Quick and simple meals are nice for busy days this time of year. DH loves Italian meals, so I came up with a recipe that goes together fast yet is lighter than the usual Italian fare. Part meal and part salad, it goes together in one dish. It is a perfect meal for these early days of autumn, while it is still warm outside.
The base of the dish is fresh spinach, a large handful in each bowl. I remove the tough stems, as I learned from Julia Child.
I brown about 12 oz of Italian sausage in a skillet …
then drain off the fat using a colander.
Onions are sauteed in just a bare amount of olive oil, then set aside. I use about 1/4-cup. I chop a fresh tomato and set the pasta to boil. I cook about 2 cups of pasta for two servings.
Returning the sausage to the pan, add the cooked onions.
Add tomato sauce, or some of my dried tomatoes in oil, and a bit of half and half (or better still, some ricotta cheese) to make the sauce creamy. Add the chopped fresh tomato to punch up the fresh taste. Throw in some chopped fresh basil and parsley too if you have those in your garden.
Add the pasta and toss in the sauce.
I put shredded mozzarella on the fresh raw spinach.
Top with the pasta mixture, sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan and serve. The heat of the pasta and meat mixture will slightly wilt the spinach.
Yum, satisfies DH’s Italian craving, and yet not too heavy a meal for a weeknight.
Use your favorite pasta with sauce recipe, just serve a lighter portion on fresh spinach. The best news, it is a throw-in-what-you-want recipe, with really no hard amounts, so just do as you like. Adding some mushrooms would be good.
Do you have a great stove top pasta recipe? What would you add to this recipe?
From My Carolina Home 
Yum
looks yummy — my hubby loves Italian also –I have a dairy allergy so I stay away from cheeses — I will try the recipe for him! Thanks for sharing!
That looks great! I have never thought to serve a dish like this on a bed of spinach. I think my husband would like it. But maybe not the kids! They could have theirs plain.
This looks delicious! I will try it this week. Thank you for all the information you share.
Sounds good, will try this.
Sounds yummy. I’d add a little chopped green sweet pepper when sauteing the onion.
That looks very tasty Carole, thanks for the idea!
A winner! Thanks for sharing it.
Oh my goodness this looks absolutely delicious! I’m reading and reading as I scroll, and actually said ‘ohhhh!’ with the sprinkle of moz on the spinach! Why, I don’t know. Just got even more delicious I guess. I’ll definitely be trying this.
OMG! Please tell me you didn’t drain the sausage fat down the sink drain!
There’s a paper towel to catch the grease, then it is thrown into the trash.
I like the way this one goes together. Thanks for the recipe.
Looks good-i never bought Italian sausage-does it have skin on it? I normally get my pasta at Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill. I haven’t made pasta at home in a LONG TIME and since it’s just me and Jim we like to eat pasta on date night Saturday night, a few times a month.