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Penne with Sausage and Collard Greens

This simple pasta recipe is one of our regulars for an easy weeknight supper. It’s easy to prepare and can be used as a template for concocting a quick and easy supper out of whatever greens, sausage, and pasta you may have on hand. I’m especially fond of collards with pasta—they have more character than the usual kale.
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
  • 1 lb penne pasta
  • 1 lb collard greens washed, stemmed, and cut into 1-inch slices
  • 2 Tbsps olive oil or more as needed
  • 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • Dash salt to taste
  • Dash black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated, plus more for serving

Instructions

  • Remove the sausage from the casings and cook it in a large frying pan over medium heat, breaking it up with a spatula, until no pink remains and the sausage begins to brown. Remove the sausage and set aside, leaving behind the fat.
  • Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and salt generously; add the pasta and cook until it is al dente, about 8–10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving one cup of the cooking water.
  • Cook the garlic briefly in the sausage fat, about 30 seconds, then add the collards, olive oil, and red pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat the collards with the fat. (You may need an additional tablespoon or two of olive oil, depending on how much fat the sausage has rendered.) Cover the pan and cook the collards until tender, about 10 minutes, adding half a cup of water, plus more if needed, to steam the collards.
  • Add the sausage and pasta to the collards, mixing thoroughly. Add the reserved pasta water, if needed, to moisten the dish. Cook for about 3 minutes to warm the dish through. Stir in the Parmesan.
  • Serve with additional Parmesan.

Notes

From GREENS: a Savor the South® cookbook by Thomas Head. Copyright © 2016 Thomas Head.