Preface:
This recipe began as "Rigatoni with Sausage and Tomato Sauce" from Bon Appétit (June 2008), p. 115. See here for that recipe. But I have since redone the recipe as below, but using my own tomato sauce, for which see here.
3 to 4 Oz. of Italian sausage with the casing
removed or 3 patties of same.
1 Cup of diced onion.
4 Cloves garlic, minced.
1/2 Cup of red wine.
1/2 to 1 Cup of fresh arugula.
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano and sage or basil.
3/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese.
2 Cups of tomato sauce. See here
for recipe.
Enough penne pasta for 2, about three handsful.
Directions:
Cook the pasta as you like and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet and saute the onions. When translucent, add the minced garlic.
When the garlic is aromatic, add the sausage. Break it up and cook until brown.
Add the 1/2 cup red wine, followed by the tomato sauce. And let simmer.
At the end of the 30 minutes add the penne plus the chopped fresh seasonings. Let it simmer until the pasta has absorbed the sauce. Serve with the Parmesan cheese over it.
Notes:
This recipe was based on the Bon Appétit recipe noted above.
The first change was to switch to penne, a less massive pasta.
The second change was to use a home made tomato sauce. There were suddenly more tomatoes in the garden than could be eaten, and the tomato sauce was the solution. It can be frozen. Cf. the "Tomato Sauce" recipe to the left.
I think, overall, that it is a very good improvement.