Orecchiette with Sausage & Spinach

What you’ll need:

• 8 oz orecchiette 

• 16 oz Italian sausage

• 1/2 medium onion

• 4-6 cloves garlic

• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard

• 1/2 c dry white wine (i used sauv blanc)

• 3 c fresh baby spinach

• 2 tbsp basil (OR a tbsp of basil pesto)

• Parmesan 

How to make it:

1. Boil a large salted pot of water and cook the pasta al dente. 

2. Meanwhile, add the sausage meat and onion to a skillet, and sauté over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes or until it's cooked through and nicely browned. Leave some fat since we're not adding any extra butter or oil.

3. Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the garlic and Dijon mustard, and cook for about 30 seconds.

4. Pour in the wine and cook until reduced by half (about 1-2 minutes).

5. Add in the spinach and basil (if using). Toss until the spinach has wilted, then add in the drained pasta and Parmesan and toss again.

6. Season with salt & pepper as needed. Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan cheese over top if desired.

*shallot instead of white onion would be yummy 

*could serve thin baked asparagus on the side or integrated with the pasta too