Description

You will want to pick up a fork and dig in before this dish is completely done. It's a comforting, satisfying pasta meal with sausage, cream, lemon juice, Asiago cheese, crunchy walnuts, parsley and sage in a browned butter sauce. Don't leave out the sage

Ingredients

• 1 c. walnut halves, pine nuts or pistachios
• 1 lb. sweet or hot Italian sausage
• 3/4 lb. ziti, or similar pasta
• 2 T. butter
• 1 bunch fresh sage
• 1/4 c. cream
• freshly squeezed juice of 1 large lemon, about 3 T.
• 3/4 c. grated Asiago cheese or other hard Italian cheese
• 1/3 c. freshly chopped parsley
• 1/2-1 c. reserved pasta cooking water

Steps

1. Place walnuts in an iron skillet or other heavy skillet; toast over medium heat until they start to smell and begin to brown, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly; chop roughly; set aside.
2. Remove meat of sausage from casing; brown over medium heat until there is no pink left; set aside.
3. Cook ziti in well salted boiling water according to package directions, but 2 minutes less than what the package says, about 6 minutes.