Pasta With(out) Red Sauce

I try to avoid cooking complicated meals during the week, mostly because I lack the brainpower after hours of wrangling high school students. Luckily, this pasta dish I made a couple of weeks ago ended up tasting complex, even though it wasn't. I had a good mix of ingredients already in the fridge, including leftover zucchini from Sunday's panini recipe, mushrooms I didn't fit into risotto last week, and some pancetta from Saturday's trip. Pancetta is basically really thick Italian bacon, and I'd been hoping to use it to fix up some red sauce, which was my intention this evening.

I started the water to boil, then started crisping up the pancetta with the garlic and mushrooms. Once I'd gotten the pasta and sausage started I opened my cupboard to pull out the jar of sauce and ... nothing. So I opened the other cupboard door and, nope, not there either. After 5 or so minutes of bewildered searching and reorganizing I had to face the facts -- I had no red sauce. At this point almost everything was done cooking. What to do?? Pesto! There was still some left over from the panini. I didn't want to make everything overwhelmed with pesto flavor, though, since there was a fabulous pancetta and garlic taste to everything. Solution? I added a can of drained diced tomatos to thicken the liquid from the meat and veggies, then a few tablespoons of pesto as a seasoning rather then a sauce. After a bit more salt and some Parmesan on top I declared a flavor victory.

I definitely beat Rachael Ray on this one. 30 minute meals? I did this one in less than 20, even with my sauce dilemma. And, it was delicious. Even though I just cooked up sausages with whatever was in the fridge and added it to pasta, it totally worked. This recipe is absolutely going into my list of fast and easy weeknight meals. Added plus? Plenty of leftovers!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 oz thick cut pancetta, largely diced (ok to substitute bacon!)
• 1 lb button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 large cloves of garlic, crushed
• olive oil
  
• 3 - 3oz spicy Italian chicken sausages, sliced in half, then sliced into 1/4 in chunks
• 1 marinated, grilled zucchini (see Perfect Panini, steps 1-3)
• 1 can diced tomatos, drained
  
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp pesto
  
• 1 lb radiatore shaped pasta
• salt to taste
• grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in pan to medium heat.
2. Add pancetta, allow to cook until brown on one side before turning.
3. Add garlic when you stir the pancetta for the first time.
4. When the pancetta begins to turn translucent, add the mushrooms.
   
5. Allow everything to cook until the mushrooms release their juices. Remove mushrooms, pancetta, and garlic to a plate or bowl while keeping as much of the drippings in the pan as possible.
6. Add another 1/2 tbsp olive oil to pan and allow to heat.
7. Add sausage.
8. When sausage is brown on one side, add zucchini and yellow squash to reheat. (If yours are still warm from cooking, save them until the mushrooms get added back)
9. When sausage is brown and zucchini is heated through, add diced tomatoes and return the mushrooms and pancetta back to reheat.
10. Ideally, at this point your pasta will be cooked and strained. Put it back in the pot you cooked it in, then add the sausage, etc., to the pot and mix.
11. Add pesto and salt to taste.
12. Scoop yourself some pasta into a bowl or onto a plate, then garnish with freshly grated parmesean.