Mediteranean Pasta Dinner For 2: Italian Version (With Leftovers For Lunch)

Ok this is a very easy recipe to prepare. I don't use the full list of items that I purchased. I'll use 1/2 of this, 2/3 of that and so on. I tend to use the rest of the ingredients as I experiment in my kitchen. There is another version of this recipe that doesn't use diced tomatoes or tomato sauce, and it is even faster to prepare. Stay tuned for that post: coming really soon.

Let's start with the really easy part: slicing, draining and straining.

Take out 4 or so artichoke heats. Cut them lengthwise into quarters, and then chop them up into decent sized pieces (enough to give a bit of a bite, but not to choke you). Set them aside in some sort of small container.

Rinse the heck out of the head of broccoli, and snap, or cut off about 6 -8 decent sized florets. Chop these as you did the artichoke and put them aside in a different container.

Do the same with the cauliflower (you shouldn't use more than 1/2 the head). Put in same container as broccoli.

Slice the green bell pepper open lengthwise, take out the seed part and the spongy white bits. Rinse under cold water, and slice lengthways into 1/4" strips. Chop it coarsely and put in same container as broccoli.

Slice the sausage into small meat-ball sized pieces. Place in skillet/frying pan that has about 5 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil in it already preheated over medium. Make sure to separate the sausage balls or they'll cook funny and take a bit longer. Cover, but keep watch over them as it's easy to burn them, so you might wish to lower the heat at this point.

Trim and peel, slice/chop the red onion while the sausage is doing its thing on the stove. (I do the onion last so that my house doesn't stink too much.) Put in small container separate from other veggies and cover to reduce smell.

Every now and then stir and check on the sausage. You'll know it's done when you cut one in two and it's not pink inside. Try to get the outside a little crisp and brown without burning it. Once it is done, remove from heat and scoop out into a separate container or microwave safe bowl... stick it in the micro, but don't turn it on just yet.

Now is the time when you should have a pot of boiling water handy. I usually set it on medium as I'm chopping and slicing, and crank it up to high once the sausage is done. If the water is boiling, toss in the pasta.

Quickly drain the frying pan/skillet of used oil, and put in the same amount of fresh. Add all of the veggies except the onion, stir them around to coat them with oil, and cover the pan. Stir a couple of times over 5 minutes. When the broccoli starts turning a vibrant green, throw in the onion and stir the whole shebang again a few times. Don't over cook the onion. It's done when it sarts to take on a slightly pale/whitish colour. Once that happens, take all the veggies off the heat and transfer to the sausage bowl that's in the microwave. Don't turn on the microwave though.

The pasta should take about 8 - 10 minutes to get ready, so you'll have to work fast here. You'll use about 1/3 to 1/2 of the can of diced tomatoes, rinsed please, put them back in the same pan as the vegetables were in (no worries about draining the oil this time). Stir them about, keeping the stove on medium low. Pour in about 1/3 to 1/2 of the jar of prepared marinara sauce, stir together and continue heating.

The pasta should be ready about now so drain it and put it back in the pot, but not on a hot element. Nuke the stuff that's in the microwave on 50% power for about 40 seconds: put it in the frying pan with the sauce and stir together well. (If you like sliced black olives which this recipe really does need, scoop out about 5 good tablespoons out of the can, and drain as much of the liquid from them as you do so. Put them in the pan and stir them up.)

Take the pan off the heat, and while it is cooling a bit, chop up a couple of handful-sized portions of feta cheese. Once this is done, add the artichoke hearts to the cooling pasta mixture. Place desired portion amount on plates and sprinkle the feta cheese over each portion. If you have some nice crusty bread, with unsalted room temperature butter, have some as an accompaniment.

Go and eat.

If anyone on the planet ever reads this, let me know what you think. Oh I nearly forgot to mention that you can add a small amount of really flavourful red wine to the sauce (buy some really cheap plonk and use maybe half a cup or so) as it's cooking. It'll really punch out the flavours of the meat and vegetables.