Sausage, Kalamata Olive and Rosemary "Naked" Pasta

"Naked" Pastas have become a kind of a thing here on Pinterest and other social media outlets over the past year. I have only recently jumped on the bandwagon as well. The noodles are lightly dressed in olive oil and other flavors instead of a sauce. It lets other ingredients shine instead of being outplayed by a heavy sauce.

Ingredients:

1 Box Angel Hair or Capellini Noodles

1 Lbs Hot Pork Sausage

1 Cup Kalamata Olives

1 10.5 oz Package of Golden Tomatoes (you could substitute grape or cherry)

3 Tbsp Fresh Rosemary

10 Cloves Garlic

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 1/2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 Tsp Pepper

1/2 Tsp Salt

Parmesan for Shaving

Instructions:

1. In a skillet or large pan begin to cook the sausage.

2. As it is cooking, cut up your mushrooms and kalamata olives, adding them to the pan.

3. Add the crushed garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

4. Allow all these ingredients to cook and their flavors to blend together.

5. Boil water in a pot and add noodles when ready. Follow the instructions on the box, drain and set aside.

6. When the sausage is fully cooked, add quartered golden tomatoes. I like them slightly cooked. The freshness of the tomatoes adds a nice contrast to the heaviness of the sausage. (You will notice the skin on the tomatoes begin to wrinkle a little.)

7. Add 3 tbsp of olive oil and make sure everything is thoroughly mixed together.

8. Add the noodles to the skillet/pan that has all of your other ingredients and toss together. (This may be a little difficult at first, since the heavy ingredients will want to settle at the bottom. So make sure to scoop around in the pan when you are preparing to serve.)

9. Shave or grate parmesan and you’re ready to go!