PENNE WITH SAUSAGE AND ONIONS
FIVE O'CLOCK P.M. ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2009
I am not a great cook. I would love to be one, I’m just not sure to what degree cooking aptitude is innate and how much of it simply comes down to experience and practice. I dream of one day being able to look in the pantry and reliably conjure a meal out of its contents, sans recipe, the way a jazz pianist can sit down at a piano and pull music out of thin air. No guarantee I’ll ever be able to do it, but it’s a worthy goal and when I hit upon a decent meal — even an exceedingly simple one like this — I’m chuffed.
You will need, per person:
- 3 or 4 oz, depending on how hungry you are, of penne or similar pasta
- 1 gourmet-style sausage (I like the local Walmart’s chicken with artichoke and mozzarella)
- 1 small onion
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic Sauce, or a minced clove of garlic if you don’t like chili
While a pot of salted water is being brought to the boil, halve and slice both the onion and sausage.
When the pasta goes in the pot, add the chili garlic sauce to the olive oil in a saute pan and turn to medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough that the garlic is starting to sizzle, add the onions and sausage. Toss occasionally until the onion and sausage are nice and hot, and are taking on a bit of char. It might beat the pasta, it might not.
When the pasta is done, drain it but don’t be too zealous. (You want to keep a little liquid since this is a sauceless recipe.) Add the pasta to the pan and mix everything together.
This has been my recent go-to meal and, depending on the sausage you use, tastes a lot more decadent than it really is.
