April 19, 2022

White Bean, Sausage and Pea Orecchiette

Name: White Bean, Sausage and Pea Orecchiette
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper; 1 lb orecchiette pasta; 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 lb sweet Italian sausage; 1 yellow onion (diced); 3 cloves garlic (minced); 1 cup frozen peas (thawed); 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional); 1 15oz canned cannellini beans (rinsed and drained); 1/2 cup grated parmesean (plus additional for serving); 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade (plus extra for garnish)

This recipe was inspired by Food Networks Katie Lee and her White Bean, Tomato and Sausage Orecchiette. We have a few picky eaters in our house, so I tailored this dish to fit my family by eliminating the tomatoes and replacing them with peas.

I love how simple this recipe is, making it a perfect option for a weeknight meal. It came together in 30 minutes, which is great for busy families or when you’re in a pinch to get something hot to the dinner table. Most of the ingredients you may already have in your pantry or freezer including white beans, peas and small shaped pasta. I used orecchiette pasta which resemble “little ears”. Their cute shape is perfect for this recipe, because when the sausage breaks up, and all the ingredients come together, they all end up being around the same size, which makes for the perfect spoonful.

You’ll notice the addition of pasta water in this recipe. Not only does the salty, starchy pasta water flavor the dish, but it creates a great sauce and makes the pasta glisten.

You can easily make substitutions in this recipe like using ground turkey instead of the sweet italian sausage, or use spicy sausage instead of sweet. Don’t like white beans? You can just leave them out! But they do add a nice creamy texture. My kids are not bean lovers and they didn’t question the beans in this dish. They are almost disguised by the litte ear shaped pasta! Plus white beans are pretty mild. You can also replace the peas with some fresh chopped spinach. Or halved cherry/grape tomatoes (as Katie Lee’s recipe calls for). If you’re choosing a different vegetable, just keep the sizes on the small side, so everything cooks evenly and the dish will also have a better appearance plated when all ingredients are a similar size. Use any small shaped pasta you have on hand, or try a gluten free pasta to make this gluten free.