Drunken Pasta!!!

I found and made this mouth watering saucy, Italian “Drunken” Noodles recipe on Pinterest! This melt in your mouth, delicious recipe is made with Spicy Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, Caramelized Onions,  Red, Orange and Yellow Bell Peppers, with Fresh Basil.

So, why is it called "Drunken," well there's some white wine added to the recipe too!  I have to tell you, my husband loved it!  

While it looks like there are a bazillion steps to this recipe, it's super easy, and you probably even have most of the ingredients in your pantry!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Olive oil
4 spicy Italian sausage links, casings removed
1 large onion, quartered and sliced thinly
1 ½ teaspoons salt (this is a HUGE amount of salt & I didn't use any)*
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
1 orange bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
½ cup white wine (I used Chardonnay)
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, julienned, divided use
8 ounces Pappardelle noodles, uncooked

Directions

Place a large, heavy-bottom pan or braising pot over medium-high heat; add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and once the oil is hot, crumble the spicy Italian sausage into the pan in small chunks (you want to keep the sausage fairly chunky), allowing it to brown in the oil for a few moments on each side; once the crumbled sausage is browned, remove it from the pan/pot with a slotted spoon and place into a small bowl to hold for a moment;

Add the sliced onion into the pan with the sausage drippings, and allow it to caramelize and become golden for roughly 5 minutes or so, stirring to keep it from burning (add a touch more olive oil, if necessary); once the onion starts to become golden, add the salt, Italian seasoning and cracked black pepper, and stir to combine,

Add in the sliced bell peppers, and allow those to saute with the onion for about 2 minutes until slightly tender and golden;

Add in the garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the white wine and allow it to reduce for a few moments, until almost completely reduced;

Add in the diced tomatoes with their juice

Return the browned spicy Italian sausage back into the pan, and gently fold the mixture to combine; allow it to gently simmer for about 3-4 minutes to blend the flavors, then turn the heat off; to finish the sauce,

Drizzle in about 2-3 good tablespoons of the olive oil to create a silky, rich flavor, and add in the chopped parsley and about half of the julienned basil; stir, and keep warm while you prepare the noodles.

Prepare the pappardelle noodles according to instructions on package; then, drain the noodles very well, and add them directly into the sauce, using tongs to gently toss and combine the pappardelle noodles with the sauce and all of the ingredients in it; check the seasoning to see if you need to add any additional salt or pepper.

To Serve

Add equal portions of the “Drunken” noodles to bowls, and garnish with a sprinkle of the remaining julienned basil; you can even top with shaved Parmesan, if desired, and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

Dust with your favorite cheese and enjoy! Oh, pour a glass of that chardonnay for yourself too . . .

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*I had to make some substitutions and some slight changes along the way.  See below.

• My market didn't have fresh basil so I used dry basil.
• My market didn't have Pappardelle noodles, so I used the widest noodles I could find.
• I did not add the salt & it didn't need any in my opinion.
• I did not add pepper because my sausage was very spicy! Like me!!! 

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Thank you for your kind words about my cousin's cousin in my previous post who was severely injured at the Boston Marathon.

Sadly the mom lost both of her legs below the knees. Amazingly enough, she has a good outlook and is planning to run the marathon with her sister next year!  She was at the finish line waiting to see her sister cross the finish line when the bombs exploded.

Her 18 year old daughter, who is a senior in high school, still has a few more surgeries ahead of her.  She has serious foot/ ankle wounds, lots of schrapnel that had to be removed and her femoral artery was severed.  She would have bled out in minutes if it had not been for the kindness of  two perfect strangers.  

These strangers tended to the daughter as her father tended to her mother.  Yes, dad was there too, he was treated and released with minor injuries. 

Thankfully mom & daughter were both brought to the same hospital, and are now in the same room.